Soul Calibur: The Seeds of Evil
by Kanto the Slayer
Summary: The delay has been long and tiring, I know... but I come bearing gifts. New chapters coming soon! Shoujoai story. Seong MiNaXianghua, with other pairings to come. Due to playing the FRICKIN' AWESOME Soul Calibur 3, more detail will be added.
1. A Prelude, Part 1: Disillusioned

Note: The following events happen immediately after Seong Mi-na's Soul Blade ending, and the three years under which she was training herself (during Soul Calibur). It will then tie in with the main storyline (Soul Calibur 2) and continue until the end of her journey in Soul Calibur 3. The events that transpired during Mi-na's two-year training session without a master were never explained, and a few what-ifs will be thrown into the picture.

* * *

The sixteenth century, 1584. 

Swords were dying and guns were rising forth.

It was an age of war where technology was matched against tradition. Stories would be told of men fighting and dying by the rifle and the cannon instead of swords and arrows. Other stories would be told of battles where the blade still held sway over life and death instead of a one-shot victory. Still, the tale that would be the center-point of this violent age was of a sword that could best firearms.

Unbreakable. Unstoppable. It made the bearer immortal- or, depending on which side of the legend was told, a monster. The truth however is more than any one man could bear... The weapon could cause whoever wielded it to transcend death. That is, if they give their soul in exchange.

Naturally, there are those with a strong enough will to withstand the whispers that echo within their minds- a weapon which told of how one could obtain power, and the fastest methods to do it. Methods which usually comprised of unspeakable horrors and atrocities that the wielder would normally not be able to execute.

Those who were able to withstand the lure of this weapon are few and far between. Those that have recovered from what they turned into will never be able to live normal lives. And then... there are those who have actually been granted immortality by the Soul Edge- those that have lived for so long that they are able to read the patterns of time. Not control, for that isn't their way; simply read. Through the lives of others, they have seen that history tends to repeat itself time and time again, in a loop of causality.

Time is a line, and karma is a circle. In the martial arts, the circle trumps the line. But there are some who can simply break through the circle instead of being trapped inside of it. This tale is about several individuals who had this capability, and though they were small elements of a bigger picture, they were the strongest of the age.

For there are more weapons than just Soul Edge and Soul Calibur to speak of. Weapons that had voices of their own- a sentience and intelligence. And like the other two weapons, they can be used for good... or evil.

* * *

She had run away. Again. Not a surprise, for those who knew her well enough. She was tired of the training, the idea of marriage didn't strike her fancy (hell, the idea of marrying someone like Hwang didn't strike her fancy), and she had been proposed to on top of that by someone who didn't know a lick about fighting and less about what she had been through (which wasn't much, seeing as she had been out of the dojang for only a few months). 

Which was enough for her to get the itch to get on the road.

Unfortunately, that wasn't even the last straw. She could handle a few bugs- pesky suitors here and there were of no consequence. But what she couldn't handle was being forced into a marriage that she neither had a say in, nor wanted to participate in.

That said, Seong Mi-na took the first chance she could get in leaving. And frankly, it wasn't that hard to do. Once again, the weapon she had carried with her everywhere she went had to come with her as well. But frankly, she had to consider what exactly do do now that she had once again slipped beyond the gates. She had little money, a long route to travel, and she suspected, not much time. Because her father would probably send _him_ after her... again.

Hwang Seong-gyeong. That irritating man.

'I can't run into Hwang again like last time, no matter what. I have to be in the last place he'd find me. I can't try and get into the Coastal Defense Force, either- my father and the Admiral know each other too well. I would just be sent back home...' Frankly, there was only one choice for it.

'The Soul Edge... it's out there somewhere. All I have to do is just get it from whoever has it, and I'm set for life! No one will ever think less of me ever again! Who knows? Even the Coastal Defense might let me in.' That said, she started heading down the same path she took last time. Naturally, the stories continued speaking of something going down in the West. Then again, what wasn't going down over there these days?

And so, in less than three months, she had crossed the border to China, and would run into quite a great many things here...

"Hold it right there, miss. This is our city... and you have to pay a toll to get through."

...The first being a group of thieves. The brunette rolled her brown eyes in irritation as she pulled out her six foot long, ninety pound pole arm and brought it to bear. It made the brigands laugh heartily, but the sixteen year old girl retained eye contact. She didn't seem to be playing around. "I don't have time for you. Move," she stated.

"Awww, just give up," one of them said as she assumed a fighting stance. "That damn thing is too big for someone as scrawny as you. You're better off giving us your money and that weapon- let a man handle the thing." They had mostly dao- probably stolen from someone who was either unlucky or foolish. One of them actually had a straight sword- a jian- and showed considerable skill with it.

'Five of them... The straight sword goes first. The others will follow suit,' the woman calculated in her head. And as expected, she heard something behind her. The guy was in for a quite rude awakening as he came charging in, thrusting with his straight sword. The tip of the weapon was the sharpest thing on there... and he was going straight for the kill, as always. She dodged by turning her body to the left, allowing both the blade and the man behind it to pass harmlessly by while whirling the weapon over her head to gather momentum. With that, she cut horizontally towards the back of his head, aiming to take it clean off of the shoulders.

Missed... her shins and ankles were the next target, but she followed through with the stroke and jumped over the attack. A she landed, the young woman settled into a stance with one hand behind her, loosely gripping the long-handled broadsword near the hand guard while the other was held out in front of her, palm forward. A mere moment later, the man rushed again, cutting and turning with each attack. To everyone's amazement though, The Korean woman used the long-handled cleaver as if it were a feather on the end of a reed.

After a particularly close shave next to her right ear, sparks flying as the flat of the blade narrowly deflected the incoming thrust, the woman brought the back end of her weapon into play, stepping forward with her back leg and jamming the counter weight into his ribs. The man flew backwards a good seven feet, and the woman followed, leaping into the air with a circular motion before hacking downwards with all of her weight behind the stroke.

The man saw it coming at the last second and managed to roll out of the way, but it was a close thing as dust and debris flew from the road below. He was in no position to counter as she withdrew the weapon, and just in case he tried anything she began stepping backwards, twirling the weapon from one side to another. He didn't, but he did call for backup. "Dammit, help me in here before I get carved!"

They did, two of them jumping into the fray, one from behind and one to her left. Now, one would think that she was now at a disadvantage, holding a weapon that required one's entire body to swing, and without a margin for error. But when the two men attacked, they all forgot the wide arc that the weapon had. And the fact that she'd been training with the weapon for as long as she could remember.

Which was quite a long while.

So it was a huge surprise when she swung the massive blade in said wide arc with blinding speed, immediately pulling out of her twirl as soon as she felt the malicious intent from behind her. It took all they had just to block the thing while on the move. A good question however would be whether they could do it twice. Mi-na swung the weapon over her head and went in another wide, sweeping circle, catching one of them off guard and making the other retreat. The man that was caught off guard was caught clean with the heavy, wide blade. He went down hard, and he was stained red.

'One. But not the straight sword... this isn't going as I planned.'

And naturally, it would only get worse as the wielder of the jian charged in again, stabbing and piercing, attempting to throw Mi-na off. Still, even at a fairly close range, she managed to fend him off. And then his buddy that she had successfully fended off from her left side came in to make it a bit more difficult... still, it was where she excelled. She had done this several times back home. Two, three, four, didn't matter how many.

The other two waited in the wings, watching her movements. They were still deciding on whether to fight or flee. Meanwhile, their buddies were finding themselves literally getting kicked around. One of them caught a hard side kick in his ribs at close range, the woman's heel breaking three of them and sending him a good ten feet back. The other had his weapon caught against the edge of her broad blade at the same time, effectively nulling the attack.

The guy with the bad left side wouldn't be getting back up. And just as soon as he fell, another man with a miao dao came in. 'Incoming two-handed fighter. Seems interesting enough.' No, she didn't miss the sound of him approaching. She was forced on the defensive again as the two attackers redoubled their efforts, and was slowly losing ground...

And behind her was the wall of a building. The man with the jian had just about had enough of the battle, and chased after Mi-na with renewed vigor. His accuracy hadn't lessened a bit, and Mi-na had to parry more attacks than she could count. "You... are getting... annoying!" She wasn't lying- he was determined to gouge her eyes out or a few other things that weren't very nice.

But there was a problem- while she wasn't tiring out, he was. Apparently, the guy hadn't finished his training when he was recruited with the bandits. That said, she started getting bolder with her movements, stepping into his attacks and forcing him to defend against what naturally could not be defended. The sheer power of the weapon overwhelmed him... and with a final turn to the right as soon as he charged forward again, and then another half turn as she brought the guan dao to bear, the flat side of her blade rammed into the back of his head, thus slamming him face-first into the wall.

Another one down. Now that he had been taken care of, there were the others... wait a minute...

"Hey, where are you going?" She saw them running off, clearly terrified. She chuckled and cleaned off her blade, wondering if there was anyone else to play with before she headed further into Peking. Then there was the guy with the broken ribs, who was just hobbling away. She decided to let that one go- no use in humiliating him any further. But of course, as she was coming down from her combat high (which was one of the things she just loved), she once again felt like she'd walked a thousand miles instead of fighting five people.

"Ugh... sleep needs me and I need sleep," she muttered to herself. "It's inn time."

With that, she picked their pockets, finding a good amount of money on both the dead man and the unconscious one. Unbeknownst to her as she headed for lodgings, someone was watching from a nearby roof. She seemed quite interested on the direction the fight was taking. Perhaps if she followed a bit further, she would most likely learn what exactly the young woman was up to. For the moment, she was on the move, and had shown considerable skill in fending off the bandits.

'I wonder what will become of her,' she mused to herself as she continued following, leaping from one roof to the next. With rumors about the Soul Edge flying about, she had to follow any lead she could get. And right now, her lead was the very familiar brown haired sixteen year old below her.

* * *

Soon, the Korean was moving through the country, and in a month through various means of travel, she was done with the first leg of her journey. It wasn't long now before she reached the West. And notably along the way, she learned quite a bit of mandarin. In the next three short months, she was pretty solid in the knowledge of the language- solid enough to start asking certain questions. 

'All these stories- they all point west... the only bad news is, that's a lot of ground to cover, and it tells me nothing I don't know already. I need names and faces. Not to mention this man in blue armor...' The very mention of him placed a tingle in her spine. But it wasn't one of fear- no. Rather, it was one of excitement- a truly strong opponent was out there somewhere. 'Whoever he is, he'd better watch out!' With this quite determined train of thought, she continued moving.

Within two short months, she was within the capital And the deal simply got better from there... she had been lucky enough to run into someone who had the exact information that she wanted... it was in a place where she had been eating one day during her stay. Overhearing a conversation about the weapon, she inquired about its whereabouts.

"Hell, I don' t know," one of the men said. "For all I can tell, it's just a fairy tale. Everyone seems to be clamoring around for it, though. It does seem to be the real thing, if so many are searching for it." Another man spoke up. "Come to think of it, I hear stories of a tall woman with silver hair looking for the Soul Edge. From what I've gathered, I'm betting you'll find her in Italy... it's a ways from here, though. You're going to need a good horse to get there."

Mi-na shrugged and said, "Oh, that'll be easy enough to get, trust me. Thanks!"

She remembered that she hadn't even made it this far last time. She couldn't help but snicker to herself. 'Now, that Hwang won't ever find me! I'll get to find the sword before he even takes note of my absence. Who knows? Maybe I'll get to have a bit more fun this time.'

In any event, she did find herself a horse- a good one at that- and made her way in much shorter order towards the city of the Renaissance. Following the silk road that covered most of southern Asia at the time, the boat she ended up on took her straight to Venice and towards another lucky break. Unfortunately, it would be her last lucky break. Because soon, she caught up with the woman she was in pursuit of. She was a good five-foot-ten and looked quite imposing.

'Ah, well. Doesn't matter how tall you are- I'll get you to answer my questions.' She managed to walk up to the woman and asked her for the information she so sought. Fortunately, the strange woman seemed to understand what she was getting at, because she stopped in her tracks and turned towards the brunette. The woman with cold blue eyes regarded Mi-na for a moment, then said in an almost condescending voice, "You don't understand what you're talking about. That sword is one of disaster. It's not going to save your country- it's going to destroy it."

Mi-na stood there, shell-shocked. After a moment of pause however, she narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, destroy it? It's supposed to be a sword for heroes, right?" The older woman chuckled and stated, "You shouldn't be foolish enough to listen to every bedtime story you hear... little girl."

Uh oh. She had flipped a switch.

"Little... girl?" Mi-na raised her guan dao towards the silver-maned woman and furiously challenged, "I dare you to call me that again after I run you into the ground." The woman smirked and responded, "That's not a very good way to react, now is it? I think I'll call you _baby_ instead. Perhaps you should go back home and play with your toys. Leave the demon hunting to someone more along in years."

That was it. "RrrrrrrAAAAAAGH!"

Mi-na came charging forward, guan dao raised high in the air. As she leapt forward, she noticed the woman withdrawing a sword that couldn't be any more than three feet long. No match. She wore that same confident smirk, though. It made her all the more irate. "I'll wipe that grin off of your face, you"

WHAM.

She suddenly found herself flying a few feet through the air, helplessly heading towards the ground. And she had a welt on the right side of her waist big enough to cause considerable worry. As she recovered, she looked closely at the woman, her expression puzzled... 'What the hell!? I was just about to get to the good part! Maybe I should move a bit faster...' Which she did as soon as she picked herself up. Her considerable leg strength propelled her forward until the world around her blurred. "I got you now!"

The woman said nothing- she simply waited. Mi-na pivoted on her left foot and cut viciously towards her intended target, the long handled broadsword sweeping from left to right. Unfortunately, the attack was handily stopped. She was simply hit before she could even finish her move, getting knocked to the left this time instead of the right. Another stinging welt, this time on her lower back.

"Are you quite done yet? I haven't got all day to play with you, little baby."

Mi-na grimaced, getting up on her feet. "I... am not... a CHILD!" She rushed again, all sense lost. She almost literally saw red, her cuts becoming wild and uncontrolled. Unfortunately, she got whipped like a child that was throwing a tantrum, or a horse that was working too slow for the rider's intentions.

Soon, she could barely stand... and fell to one knee.

The woman shook her head and said, "As stated before... go home. If you can't fight, you have no place looking for Soul Edge." With that, she made her way off into the distance. A sizable crowd had gathered, and now they were parting ways, some of them jeering a bit. One man however, managed to guffaw and chortle shamelessly. She noticed that a staff was in his right hand- he mostly used it for a walking stick though, to hold him up while he staggered about.

"Oh, that was rich! I'm glad I came over here t'see this... thanks for the show, babe. And maybe you shouldn't be so hasty to attack, baby." Unfortunately, one of the most hated words in her vocabulary had been spoken, and by a guy who she was surprised could form sentences. 'He's drunk out of his mind, and he's treating ME like a child?'

"I am NOT a little baby, DAMN YOU!!"

It was a surprise she could even move, but she did. Her anger gave her that extra boost she needed... but he didn't even have to move, dodge, or anything else. All he did was raise a hand and grab the part of the shaft that was just underneath the blade. She was stopped cold, and couldn't seem to move. As she struggled against his steady grip, he chuckled.

"See? 'S important t' watch who yer fightin'."

He released the rod just as Mi-na pulled back, and she tumbled unceremoniously to the ground. Okay, now her butt hurt. 'All that, even while he was plastered... I was just about to hit him and he moved so fast!' While she was mulling this over, the man nodded and said, "Well, it was fun, but I gotta get back. My drink's a-waitin'!"

It was then that Mi-na looked up and saw him leave. Or rather, stumble away. If he could keep his focus even during an intoxicated state like that, then... "Wait. I said, wait!" He stopped and turned towards the now standing, and bruised, Seong Mi-na. "What's wrong now? You need a drink too?" She rolled her eyes and said, "No, I need you to train me."

The guy looked like he'd laugh again. "Listen, I ain't got time to train nobody, girl. 'Sides, I'm just an old guy- what would you learn from me, hmm?" Mi-na's eyes narrowed. "Well for starters, how'd you do that? Block me without lifting that staff of yours, I mean. It was so quick I couldn't see you move..."

The man smirked. "Awww, that? Probably wouldn't understand it if I told ya. Now, let me be, got it?" He turned to leave... and as soon as he took three steps, he heard something behind him. "I said leave me be! C'mon now, I don't have time."

"No," she said adamantly. "You have something that I need to learn, and I want to learn it, old man." He raised an eyebrow and said, "There're others that can teach ya. Can't you bug someone else?" Mi-na shook her head and continued following him. "Please? I need to get stronger so I can protect my country! If you had anything you cared about, you'd listen!"

He stopped. After a momentary pause, he said, "Kid... I lost what I cared for a long time ago. It's why I'm over here drinkin'. Not like you'd understand- I doubt you've lost anything that was truly important to you." Mi-na had no response. The man sighed and turned around, eying the girl with a bleary-eyed stare.

"...Fine. But only if you'll leave me alone for a bit. I need my drink. Meet me out here tomorrow, same place. I know a good quiet spot where we can do all this... training thing or whatever. Just don't be late, all right?"

Mi-na managed to nod her assent.

* * *

When it came to training, Mi-na was never late. NEVER. So the next day, there she was, standing at the same place where she had fought that woman. Nonetheless, she did have doubts. Well wouldn't you as well, when you'd just gotten your ass handed to you after being so confident? 

'I lost. And so easily, too. Nothing I did worked at all, and I've been training for how long? Years. Since I was much younger. So if I can't beat someone like her, who can I beat? Can I fight at all? Maybe she was right- maybe I should go back home again...'

And then, an attack came forth from behind her, without her hearing it until the last second. 'What!? How did he-' Nothing. She didn't get hit. She turned her head to look behind her shoulder... and found that the weapon was two inches from the back of her head. "You gotta learn to pay more attention, girl. Might get hurt that way. Be lucky I didn't use all my force. You wouldn't have seen, much less heard it coming."

She didn't doubt that. As soon as she turned around, she saw another staff in his hand. Made of rattan instead of his much harder oak, he tossed it to her. It was easily six feet, just as long as her guan dao. Weighed less, too. "You're training with this until you can get it right. Understand?" She did nothing but nod. 'If I don't get this right, I'm going to lose the Soul Edge to someone else! I can't afford to make one mistake... So for now, I have to just shut up and listen to what he says.'

Even if he was drunk... and didn't entirely shave or take care of his hair... and smelled funny... This was going to most likely be a long bout of training. He stumbled around today, kind of like yesterday... "Um... have you been drinking all night? I'm surprised you can even stand."

The man chuckled and said, "You wanna say that when you come over here and attack me? I promise I won't bite... Not too hard, anyway." With that, she settled into a stance and smirked. "Oh, that sounds fun. Let's do this!" After getting into a stance where she has the weapon behind her, Mi-na charges forward before whirling the weapon over her head and turning with her body weight... only to have him slip underneath it, bending backwards at a seemingly impossible angle. The only thing about that was she would only swing around a second time, forcing him to bend backwards again.

Once that was done, she threatened to send him stumbling backwards with a vertical stroke in the downwards direction, aiming for his chest and the general area of his head. Just when it seemed she would hit him, he stumbled to his right instead, almost toppling over. Mi-na wasted no time in following him, doing her best to try and land a hit on him. Unfortunately, she got snubbed, every hit being aptly defended against as he retreated.

'What!? He just blocked every attack I threw at him! I know he's wasted- I can smell it on him. So how is he able to defend himself?' She swung right at his head, only to have him suddenly drop to the ground in a reclining position. 'Okay, now he's toying with me...'

The man chuckled. "What's the matter? Don't think you can beat an old, drunk man?" She said nothing, only leaping into the air, bringing her weapon over her head as she did so. As she landed, the rod came straight down on her opponent, only for him to kick straight at her from his position. Quite hard, at that. Mi-na was naturally sent flying after that, her rattan staff going one way with her sailing the other direction. After a distance of four feet, she landed in a pile on the ground, her weapon properly disarmed.

'No way. Now I can't even beat a drunkard? I'm never gonna recover from this.'

Thing was, the man noticed her frustration. He was far more insightful than she knew at the moment... "Get up and get your weapon. You ready to learn now?" She stayed down on the ground for a bit longer. That fall really hurt... but after a bit, she rose to her feet and walked over towards her weapon. It might hurt a bit, but she would most likely benefit in the end.

Especially if she wanted the Soul Edge for her country. But the thought in the back of her mind still existed. The woman had said it was an evil weapon. Did such things exist? Were there really swords that could think for themselves? If there were... well, she'd just have to find out for herself, wouldn't she? And even if her story didn't have any merit to it, she would still get what she came for.

No matter what it took...

* * *

The black-haired woman had a Japanese look and feel to her as she moved silently through the European alleyways. Her dark red body suit covered her almost entirely, stopping just at the shoulders. Though it did everything it could to accentuate her features and provided little in the way of defense, leather and tempered steel armor, forged by her own hand, gave her ample protection against various methods of attack. The red outfit went all the way up her neck to the jaw, and then beyond, covering her mouth and nose; thus, her more distinguishable features were concealed. She stood at five feet, seven inches and weighed in at one hundred and seventeen pounds, without a trace of fat on her well-toned body. Slanted brown eyes had a focused and intent gaze as she trailed her mark through the shadows, which she had done so effectively for a while now, without getting caught. 

She was kunoichi, and her name was Taki. A demon huntress by trade who was blessed with supernatural abilities, she was a member of a hidden sect of ninja who were destined to combat the evils of this world. Demons were real, and evil did have physical form and spiritual power, and these ninja were sworn to protect the world against it. Right now, she had suspicions about the one that she was stalking, and they were growing surer by the minute.

The woman she had been trailing for the past two days now through the country was hard to miss. Cold blue eyes, silver hair, and knew more about the Soul Edge than most people that searched for it. That fact had been proven at the battle near one of the bridges that spanned the multiple canals in Venice.

She had spoken as if she were directly connected with the blade, and knew that it was innately evil. That, plus the weapon that she carried, which appeared to change shape at her will, told the demon-killer much. But it did not tell her enough. Thus, she followed the woman through the city, keeping track of what she did, what places she usually frequented, what people said about her and around her. Especially the words. Words were information, and information was power for a spy.

A spy also needed weapons, and the ninja had two of her own. One of them was sheathed behind her right shoulder, angling to the left. It was a kodachi that was blessed with sacred power- a weapon that Taki had forged herself. And its power to slay evil spirits and heal the wounded was weakening, overcome by a much more sinister force. The weapon sheathed at her lower back had a much more ominous design. It was still a seemingly ordinary kodachi, but the similarities to the weapon ended there. It was a demon sword, and its energy was terrible once it was unsheathed from its resting place.

Even when she held the grip, Taki felt an immense wave of power run through her, as if an electric current rushed along her skin. But she knew what it really was- the blade wanted blood, and gave the wielder the power to spill it. Any others who would grip this weapon would have given in. Taki had not- at least not yet. It was an advantage however that the blade could sense power nearby. Specifically, power that was evil; tainted in some way, shape or form. Cursed individuals who had nothing left to lose.

And the weapon trembled, even though it was still in its sheath. That woman was approaching her position, no doubt. Taki slipped into the shadows, almost as if she were melting into them, and for a moment she did indeed appear to have vanished without a trace. Walking just before the opening in the alley was that woman with silver hair. The odd clothing she wore made her stand out even more, making the ninja sure that she was on the right track.

Emerging from the shadow after a few moments, she continued pursuit... and then stopped in her tracks. A glint of sunlight off of a metal object was what she saw, and on an intuitive level she knew what it was. Her instincts and emotions screamed to get out of the way, and she listened. Taki's body turned to the right side, and not a second too soon. The kodachi sheathed at her lower back did not tremble- it whined now. Resonated in time with the whip-like sword that was currently passing two inches in front of her nose.

'As I suspected. It _is_ cursed.'

As the weapon retreated, a voice called out from the far end of the alley. "Isn't this just my day? First a whining baby, and then a dishonorable stalker! Do you want to know what the Soul Edge is as well?" Taki responded rather smoothly, unperturbed by the woman's cold persona. "No. I already know what it is. And I also know that your weapon has been touched by its evil. Discard it at once- it is tainted."

For a brief moment, there was silence. And then, as if she had a part of her insulted, the woman's tone of voice lowered dangerously. As she stepped into the sunlight that filtered into the narrow alley "How dare you... this blade is _not_ tainted- I created it with my own two hands. It was made to destroy that cursed blade, and cannot be a part of it. After all, I am in control of it, and it does not command me."

With that, she took a step backwards with her lead leg, reeling backwards with her right hand as she did so. "Allow me... to **demonstrate**!" The weapon glowed with a deep, menacing purple aura for a moment before shooting outwards again, aimed for the ninja's midsection. With little room in the corridor to move, Taki made do with what room she had and ran up the right side of the alley, her feet almost sticking to the wall. The blade passed underneath her lower back, skimming the sheathed kodachi that rested there. It howled in pleasure.

Taki felt something move underneath her after three steps, and dared not look behind her as she kicked off of the wall, throwing her legs over her head as she did so. A back flip off of the wall, and not a moment too soon, because that razor-sharp, multi-sectioned whip was headed upwards mere inches from Taki's body.

The ninja had gone far enough to plant her feet on the opposite wall before launching herself towards the woman, the kodachi that was sheathed behind her now exposed to the open air and aimed for the woman with the sword chain, poised to land in her throat, forehead, nose bridge, or anything else that was a vital target.

The whip simply moved slightly up and to the right... before ramming downwards towards the incoming human projectile. It appeared to be the end of the line... until the ninja twisted in mid-air, rotating her body counter-clockwise. The weapon missed again, and now there was nothing that could be done besides an evasion as she turned to her left and took a few steps back.

Or rather, was forced to take a few steps back. It was too close... fighting from a distance seemed not to be a problem for this one!

As the ninja tucked again before she hit the ground, she caught a glimpse of the weapon changing back to its original form. She wanted to know how that happened... but only for a brief moment before she landed, turned, and rushed forward with a horizontal swing to the right with the blessed kodachi. All in the same instant.

The attack was blocked, though the silver-haired woman had to compensate for her attacker's speed. Lighter weapons, more agility, uncanny speed.

"Just who are you? Why do _you_ want the Soul Edge?"

Taki attacked again, providing no clear answer. Her left knee punched upwards towards the woman's midsection while the weapons were still held in place. It would have been the perfect time to attack with the opposite kodachi, but for some odd reason, she was wary of using that other sword. "That is none of your concern," Taki droned as the knee connected. As the woman was popped slightly into the air and came down again, Taki placed her hands on her adversary's shoulders and jumped upwards onto her upper back before jumping upwards again, using her as an impromptu springboard.

A single back flip in the air, and then WHAM. The woman cried out in pain as she was forced down to one knee, the pressure on her shoulders and upper back overwhelming her senses for a moment. Before she knew what was going on, Taki was up and over again. The woman got up a bit slowly from that. Too slowly.

WHAM. A second landing, and this time the combination of the second jump's height and Taki's own body weight forced the silver-haired warrior to the ground, quite hard. The kunoichi casually performed a back walkover to remove her feet from her opponent's back, then causally folded her arms in front of her chest.

"You will tell me... what I need to know. Where is Soul Edge?"

The silver-haired woman got up with quite a bit of effort, her shoulders and trapezius muscles in a world of hurt. Blood streamed down her face from a cut in her forehead, almost getting into her eyes. "I refuse. There is nothing to tell- and even if there were, I wouldn't tell you."

Taki began to formulate a response, but the kodachi at her lower back seemed to pulse and throb. It wanted to make her bleed even more. Taki had an inclination to oblige it- this woman was annoying her greatly. Still, the weapon was starting to become unstable. She could not stay for long. "We will finish this some other time," she said as she took a few steps backwards into the shadows.

There were no footsteps, no sounds of retreat. Taki had simply vanished.

'What the hell was that about?' the woman with silver hair brooded as she stood again, dusting herself off. She had a hard time of that rather simple action due to her shoulders and upper back being in a substantial amount of pain. "...Bitch," she muttered as she walked away.

Taki, meanwhile, was on another roof in the city, out of sight from the crowds passing below. She did not notice that she was bleeding until now- there was a superficial cut along her left side. Her mind flashed back to the dive where the whip had almost descended upon her, and realized that it was closer than she had expected. Taki, with a grimace of sheer disdain, decided to voice her opinion about the woman she had been pursuing. "...Bitch."

Perhaps it was fate that they had said the same thing at the same time.

* * *

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Thanks for reading. Hope to see you all next time.


	2. A Prelude, Part 2: The Life and Times

Seong Mi-na. Age sixteen. Born Sunday, November third, 1568, at the base of Mt. Jirisan in South Korea. The mountain was considered sacred ground due to its multiple Buddhist temples, and it was the rocky guardian of the Jeolla province. Located within these peaks, on the grounds of an abandoned temple that had been built in the fourth century and had since been reconstructed multiple times, was a martial arts school -- a dojang -- that mirrored those of Ming Dynasty China. It even adopted a similar combat style, taking weapon techniques and combining them with fierce kicks and high-speed footwork.

Headed by Seong Han-myeong, a highly skilled martial artist known around the country for his effective combat tactics, not to mention his military lineage, the dojang had an abundance of students from around the Eight Provinces of the Joseon Dynasty. However, Han-myeong suffered a blow to his psyche when his wife and son died from illness, and he was left with his daughter, whom he worried about almost constantly. Starting at the age of five, he trained her relentlessly in the ways of the Seong Family Long Sword so that she would be able to take care of herself.

The young girl turned out to be a prodigy. In five years' time, she was well-versed in multiple weapons and techniques, toying around with hardwood spears and flexible yet sharp steel swords as if they were her own personal playthings. Even the heavier weapons were no obstacle, and soon she was a rather experienced fighter. The local boys teased her for her looks back then, calling her nothing more than a girl. Unfortunately for them, they received multiple bruises for their folly.

It was during this time of training and advancement that she stumbled upon something that would be imprinted on her mind forever. Within the halls of the temple, there were four treasured swords that the family owned; weapons that were said to house spiritual powers. It was unconfirmed whether these rumors were true or not, but the six-foot-long guan dao, the Scarlet Thunder, seemed to... call to her, even at the age of six. Trying to lift the weapon proved ineffective at first, but when her father saw what she was doing, he smiled.

"You won't be able to lift something that heavy. At least, not yet. If you want, I could show you how to use it."

The young girl nodded excitedly. She did not yet know why, but just looking at it gave her a sense of excitement. As her training intensified and time passed, she grew more and more attached to the weapon; as if she felt that it belonged to her, somehow. She did not try to explain these strange feelings -- she simply went along with them. Perhaps this was why she became such a magician with the weapon. By the time she was 14, she had surpassed her own father in the art of wielding the sacred guan dao.

Her speed with the ninety pound weapon was amazing -- due to her training with the Scarlet Thunder for such an extended time, she could carry and use it as if it were a spear, which made her spear, broadsword, and straight sword manipulation even faster.

However, her superiority in combat was threatened by a young man within the dojang -- Hwang Seong-gyeong, an orphan who had lost both of his parents. She felt sorry for him, and became friends with the boy at a young age, sparring with him regularly. The two became rivals as they each climbed to the top of the school's ranks.

Hwang's natural talent for swordsmanship had earned him private lessons with the master, and under his tutelage, the young man became fierce in his fighting style. For the first time in so long, Han-myeong felt like he had a son. This was probably why he made the decision to arrange a marriage between his daughter and the young man when the time was right. Besides, Mi-na would be probably be happier as a housewife -- or so he thought.

However, during Mi-na's years of training, she had developed a strong passion and loyalty towards her country. The military unification of Japan was a marked sign of the change in times, and while Korea's Confucian society shunned the use of swords and the practice of swordsmanship, the Japanese revered it. Military ideals were not primary on the Koreans' list of priorities, and perhaps this mentality was an omen of things to come.

However, there was still hope. Admiral Yi Sun-shin, a childhood friend of Han-myeong's, sent out a call to arms. A Coastal Defense Force was formed, and fortresses were set up along major coastal routes. Mi-na wanted desperately to join, but could not because she was a woman. She was furious... but soon found an opportunity to correct this after eavesdropping on a conversation between a pair of warriors who had come to train at the dojang.

It was the first time she heard the term "Soul Edge"... and it would not be the last. Now, at the age of 16, she believed she was prepared for the road ahead, and reckoned that if she could not defend her country in one way, she might be able to do so in another. On top of that, she figured that it might also earn her recognition as more than just a woman. With that in mind, she set out that very night, not knowing that Hwang had been sent out as well on the exact same mission, and with official orders.

It would be the first time she left her home in the mountains, an act she would repeat in the future...

* * *

Venice, Italy. 

A city just at the end of the former Silk Road. The nation of Italy, like many other European countries, was experiencing the Renaissance. Ideas that were long since dead and discarded were resurfacing. It was a time of artistic and academic advancement... but also a time of strife and hardship.

Still, to the pair who were undergoing their own hardships, little of that mattered. At least, not at the moment. They were both trying to find enough spacing and positioning in order to outmaneuver the other, and score a hit with the wooden staffs they carried. The first looked to be in his thirties or forties and, to be honest, looked a little scruffy. At least the man wasn't sodden, like he usually was. Yet.

The other was a young woman of age sixteen, wearing mostly red and yellow silk. Normally, she used a long-handled broadsword; a guan dao, specifically. Heavy, unwieldy. However, when she used it, it was like an extension of her body. Still, there was always room for improvement. That said, she was training under the man who was currently trying to knock her to the ground.

He had already done so. Twice.

But who knows? Perhaps the third time's the charm...

WHACK. "Ow! Not so hard!"

...Or not.

The man chuckled and extended a hand towards Mi-na. It had been over a month now, and though she was getting better, she still had a ways to go. However, he had noticed that she had a knack for observation, and possessed eidetic memory -- she saw something once, and never forgot it. With it, she could copy the techniques that he showed her time and time again, intuitively. All he had to do was drill them into her.

However, the man whom she had come to know as Kong didn't care as much for technique as he did for spirit. She had a determination and intensity about her that he admired. He never told her such things, though, afraid that it might go to her head and interfere with how hard she was training.

As he helped her up, he nodded in a sagely manner. "Getting better. But try to work on your footwork some more. The rod does not require so many solid stances as your guan dao, nor does it require as much force. You'll have to work your way out of that mindset."

She only nodded. "I understand."

The strong-willed Mi-na was cooperating, for once. Though she was stubborn in all other areas of life, when it came to learning about combat, she was very open to instruction. Perhaps that was why she had mastered the guan dao so quickly. When she was not angered or upset in any way, she could actually be personable. Fortunately, it wasn't difficult to learn a style once one got the basics down. And these were the basics.

She slid into stance again, eager to go another round. Kong raised a hand to stop her though, and said, "Hang on there. We have to do the drill, you know. There are still a few things to learn here..."

Mi-na almost pouted, but she didn't entirely disagree. She dropped the stance and stood at attention with the staff in her right hand. "Good... now then, ready!" She quickly snapped into the combat stance, one hand at the end of the staff and the other at the center. Her thumbs were facing each other -- the first time she had held it like this, it felt odd. But soon, she learned that there was a reason behind this. It made the staff easier to manipulate, and gave her a higher degree of control.

After a few days of holding it in this manner, she had gotten used to it. By the time the month was out, she had gotten the basic drill down. And now, she sparred with Kong daily, though every time she lost she had to do the drill again. It was getting boring, and every time she did it she felt the urge to use one of those practice strikes against him, just to see how he would react. But she never did.

As she performed the stance repeatedly, she wondered if this was all there was to it. Just drill, spar, repeat? What if she won? What then? She felt compelled to stop and ask, and was about to do so when her teacher called the exercise to a halt. "All right, stop. I see you've pretty much got the basic strikes down. Let's see if you can't learn something new."

Mi-na couldn't help grinning eagerly. Kong raised an eyebrow and said, "Hang on, now. This one isn't an offensive technique. This is more a principle than anything else. I don't want you to bother with it if you're not going to think of this in the right way." Mi-na nodded, the grin still plastered to her face.

Kong sighed and said, "Sit and meditate first. You need to focus for this." She didn't nod this time – she just did what she was told. The thought of learning something new had her excited, however, and she couldn't clear her mind. And because of this... she didn't hear the attack coming. She felt a firm tap on her head from his six-foot staff, and she rubbed her sore head, looking up at Kong with a sour expression.

"You're not focused... otherwise you'd have known that was coming. I've noticed that this is the part you need work on sometimes. Focus is a constant, steady awareness. Keep your mind relaxed, and your senses tuned." Mi-na nodded and closed her eyes again, this time letting her mind drift. For a few moments, nothing happened... After about a minute however, she felt like she was floating in a void of sorts. It happened on and off for a bit, but she got progressively better at clearing her mind, and soon it was much easier to keep it that way.

And speaking of things being easier, it was certainly much less difficult to hear a stick swishing through the air behind her. Right at her left shoulder... and milliseconds before impact, her left hand shot upwards from where it was resting on her knee in order to catch the rod. Still, no thought entered her mind. One would almost think that...

"...You don't even realize what you've done, do you?"

She opened her eyes and found that she had stopped his attack just before it had made contact with her. Her eyes widened as she let go of the rod, as if it were a snake about to bite her. "...You mean I did that?"

Kong nodded. "And without a second thought. You don't have to think in order to react to a situation. You don't even have to see. It becomes instinct, which requires little thought at all. Now, do you think you can keep that focus while your eyes are open?"

Mi-na thought about that... and actually thought hard this time. In the space of this particular morning, she had lost most of the duels she had fought against Kong so far. Mostly because she got angry at being knocked around so much. In the end, she shook her head in the negative. "I think that's why I've been losing so much. Right?"

Kong raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps. Or maybe it's just because you suck."

Mi-na's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Very funny." Then she sighed, and took a deep breath. Being angry at something he said was not helping her. "But maybe you're right. That's why I'm here, aren't I?"

Kong raised both eyebrows. 'She's maturing. Interesting...'

* * *

"Tell me why I'm doing this again?" 

Mi-na was blindfolded, holding the staff in her right hand. The young woman was still perfectly capable of listening, though. And what she heard him say didn't make her happy. "Why, we're going to fight, of course. And you will not see anything coming. The point of this exercise will be to increase your awareness outside of the visual range. Because whether you like it or not, the eyes can deceive. Now, ready!"

Without a second thought on the matter, Mi-na prepared to defend herself. To be perfectly honest, she was scared. Fortunately, her expression did not relay this fact, but she was still afraid. She had no idea where he would come from or how she would respond, and for a long while, she heard nothing. Swallowing nervously, she tried to focus. Fortunately, she didn't have to close her eyes now that she was already blindfolded.

Unfortunately, it was one thing to clear her mind while sitting without any distractions, and another entirely to do it while preparing for combat. Her stomach was in knots. Her grip was so tight that her knuckles were white. Her knees started shaking. Everything within her was ready to explode, and all because of the fear that was steadily building within her. Her mind started considering every angle, every possible method of attack that Kong could take advantage of.

There were too many.

'Oh, shit! I'm going to lose, I'm going to lose, I'm going to...'

"Take the blindfold off."

She did so without hesitating. She found that her breathing had gotten heavy without her knowing it. And as she looked around, she realized that Kong had not moved from his position. At all. Not once. She tried to form a sentence, and could not.

"Do you know why I didn't attack?" She shook her head. He sighed and answered, "You were not only unable to focus, but you were completely and totally out of sorts. You were afraid... which is understandable. But while fear is not entirely a bad thing, you allowed it to control you. That said, had I attacked, you would not have heard me coming -- you would only have felt the blow."

At this point, she collapsed onto the ground. "I... I was afraid. I couldn't move... I couldn't see..."

Kong nodded. "We'll have to work on this. Sit. Meditate. I'll be back soon to check on you." She suspected that she knew where he was going – namely, to the bar so he could get drunk -- but she didn't care. Mi-na sat down in Lotus position, closed her eyes, and tried to stop herself from shaking so much.

By the time she had finally calmed herself completely, it was mid-afternoon. She had found her void again, and buried herself into it for a good portion of the day. Fortunately for her, they trained in an inconspicuous place, so there was no one to bother her. As she opened her eyes and stood slowly, feeling worlds better, she wondered where Kong was. He should have found his way back, even while drunk. That was, if he wasn't more intoxicated than he usually was, which was certainly possible.

And so, she found herself with nothing to do. 'Well then, I'll just have to think of something, won't I?' She smiled to herself and lifted her staff, trying out many of the things she had learned. Spinning, twirling, and striking at invisible targets. She swung her rod in wide arcs, as if clearing entire enemy lines at once. And soon, she found herself slipping into her void again without even knowing it.

Soon, she could see the opponents in her head. They had all sorts of weapons -- some larger than others. She didn't really have anything but the basic attacks, but they would do nicely. As line after imaginary line of foes went down, she didn't realize that she was being watched.

Kong was watching her, and he probably would have interrupted, had he not been so impressed. Mi-na seemed to have worked up quite a sweat over the past few hours. Yes, he had gotten himself something to drink. But surprisingly, he wasn't as inebriated as he usually was. He was still messy, sure enough -- but at least he wasn't completely smashed.

After a bit, she finished her little sparring session... and heard applause behind her. Turning her head to look, she saw her current master walking towards her as he clapped his hands. "Not bad. Good execution, timing, technique, and most importantly, focus. Well done."

She smiled -- a modest smile this time. "Don't tell me you were watching the whole time."

He shook his head. "I wasn't. But I saw enough to know that you're progressing nicely. Now then, shall we try this again?" He produced a blindfold, and held it out towards her. She took it without hesitation this time, knowing perfectly well that she was probably going to get beat down. Still, it was worth a shot.

As she removed herself of the sense of sight, she heard Kong give the signal to get ready. Once again, she assumed the fighting pose and waited. And once again... she heard nothing. For quite some time. 'Will he hurry up?' Now she was getting impatient. And a little nervous. Where was he going to attack from first? She would have no idea until he moved.

This time however, she made an effort to control herself. She didn't slow her breathing – as a matter of fact, she didn't need to. She simply envisioned herself falling into her void. Simply emptying her mind, all at once. It only took a matter of seconds. The knot in the pit of her stomach was gone, for the moment.

And just when she attained her focus... she heard it. Footsteps behind her.

'There you are.'

She didn't make a move until he did. A vertical swing, coming down at her right shoulder. Mi-na lifted the staff over her head in a horizontal position, effectively blocking the attack. He wasn't done, though... He only continued his attack, aiming the next strike for the left side of her head. She blocked that as well, pivoting on her left foot and turning into the attack, her weapon held perpendicular to his. Blocked again. She swung her staff at a low angle, aiming to take out his legs, and he hopped over, swinging down with the staff. She raised her weapon to block; now facing him on an equal plane instead of having to find him on her left side.

Naturally, one foot would be in front of the other, so she aimed to take it out. But unlike her, he wasn't blinded. Sliding the front foot back, Kong defended against the low swing, and the one that came after.

It went like this, on and on, back and forth, for quite a while. She found it easier to detect where he was going now, and didn't even consciously notice the void anymore. Then again, that's what it was supposed to be like; the void was empty of everything -- a state of mind that was free of distracting thoughts. Sooner or later, one would stop noticing its existence.

"Enough. Take the blindfold off."

Mi-na did so. She found that, while Kong seemed a lot less tired then her, she still felt much better about her chances. "Good. You still need some work -- but now you have focus. I'll tell you what -- we'll keep doing this until you can land a proper hit on me." Mi-na nodded, saying nothing further on the subject. Sooner or later, she would best him. All she had to do was wait.

* * *

A year had passed... 

"Shaaaaaa!"

The sound of two staffs clashing against one another repeatedly pierced the air, though no one was in the vicinity to hear it. Mi-na's hair had grown a bit longer, though she hadn't gotten any taller. However, she was starting to fill out and blossom, and these days she could turn a few heads if she wanted to. But she wasn't worried about how many men she could fetch at the moment.

Lately, Kong was holding nothing back, forcing his Korean student to respond in kind. There was less and less need for a blindfold as well, because a lack of focus didn't earn her a verbal reprimand anymore; it meant getting a nasty bruise instead. Her attention wavered less and less as she was forced to focus more and more on not getting smacked around.

Today seemed to be the most difficult test of her skills to date. She seemed to have the situation under control however, as she continued to fend off his attacks. She had to move her head out of the way as Kong thrust his staff directly towards her nose, bending backwards in order to get clear of his attack. She could feel the air parting around the weapon as the blow -- barely -- missed its intended target.

'Is he trying to kill me?'

That was a distinct possibility. However, she had no time to think about it. He came at her again as soon as she righted herself. She had to block an attack from her left side that sliced through the air at blinding, eye-searing speed. The impact made her own rattan staff tremble in her hands. Without missing a beat he swung again from the other direction, straight at the side of her head. Blocked again. And still, he came at her. He was incredibly fast, and not playing around.

'I have to do something, or I'm gonna be knocked out!' She was being forced backwards, slowly but surely. Sooner or later, he would find an opening. It was inevitable -- she would get hit if she didn't do something soon. Though she had been winning more often these days, he was really tightening the screws this time. His strikes were so powerful that she was actually afraid that her staff might break...

And while she was thinking about that, she had to duck underneath another swipe. Finally, she took the opportunity to counterattack. As she swung at his legs, she had to marvel at the way he performed a single butterfly twist over the weapon. 'No way...' She settled into a ready stance again as Kong landed.

'This guy's crazy! I've never seen him do that before...'

As for Kong, he was starting to get a bit worried. She had almost caught him that time... 'She is learning a style that is supposed to be a secret with incredible speed. It's been only one year, and she's already learned more things than most learn in a lifetime...' She took two steps forward, ready to swing at him again, before Kong held up a hand.

"That's enough for now. I need a drink."

Mi-na raised an eyebrow. "What? Now!?"

He nodded. "Yes, now. We'll continue this later, if you don't mind."

She regarded him for a moment, then settled down and bowed to him. "That's fine. Thank you for the match."

He was surprised at her compliance, but did not show it. "Well then, I'll be going now."

As she watched him leave, however, she couldn't help feeling a bit puzzled. 'What's his deal? I thought we were going to fight until one of us was knocked down.' However, she decided not to question it. She was just glad that he hadn't knocked the living daylights out of her…

…Until later that afternoon. He hadn't come back yet. Usually, he would have returned by now, and Mi-na was starting to worry. So she headed towards the bar that she knew Kong usually frequented... only to find him gone. Completely and totally gone, without a single clue to where he had gone.

Well, there was one clue.

"Hey," the barkeep shouted as she walked in. "Are you the one named Mi-na?" She turned and nodded. After giving her the once-over, he handed her a note. "Your weapon is over there in the corner." She glanced at the place that the barkeep had indicated, and she was surprised to see Scarlet Thunder resting against the wall. "I would appreciate it if you take it with you when you leave. I'm sick of looking at it already." She nodded, not understanding how anyone could ever get tired of looking at something so beautiful, and went to retrieve the beloved guan dao that she had missed so dearly. She was halfway there when she remembered the note in her hand, and stopped to read it.

'...What is this? I don't understand.'

The note, in its entirety, read:

_To my student, Mi-na:_

_Before I begin, I would like to note that I was entirely sober when writing this letter. The contents within are the complete and absolute truth. You may trust these words, or you may not. Either way, I must let you know that our fight this morning was our last._

_Congratulations. You have earned the right to wield your guan dao again. Unfortunately, I have nothing left to teach you. I am not worthy of instructing anyone, especially someone with your talent. In a single year, you have learned all that I can teach you. The only advice I can give you now is to combine what I have taught with what you already know. This way, you can create your own unique style of fighting without having to rely on either alone. Another suggestion -- continue training, no matter what obstacle may come your way. I am confident that you will succeed in any task you undertake, if you just apply your drive to succeed._

_Where I am going, I cannot say. To be honest, I do not know. However, what I do know is that it was an honor to teach someone so brilliant._

_Forgive me,_

_Kong Xiuqiang._

* * *

And so, Mi-na returned to China. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go -- the trail in the West for Soul Edge had gone cold. No traces, no leads, nothing. Just more stories, none of which made sense anymore. Still, she figured that the legendary weapon would pop up again sooner or later, at which point she would resume her quest. Until then, she would spend her time improving her skills. And the only way to do that was to train and fight. Since she no longer had anyone to train her, she would simply train herself. Finding someone to fight was a more difficult problem to solve, though. She couldn't just walk up to people and ask to duel them. Fortunately for her, in times such as these there were plenty of places in conflict all around the world, and there was always someone in need of somebody who was good with a blade. All she needed to do was find one of them. 

That said, she was constantly hearing stories about pirate raids all around Japan. Apparently, they were becoming a serious problem, so she decided that was where she would go. 'Besides,' she thought, 'it'll be a good way to thin their numbers so they can't attack Korea as effectively. I'll be killing two birds with one stone.' Yep, that was the way to go. So after a few months of preparation, she was set to take on these brigands, and she sailed to Japan.

Unfortunately, when Mi-na finally got there, she found that she was running low on funds. So she started going around to the local teahouses and inns, trying to find out about how she might earn some cash. Eventually, she started hearing stories about some town nearby that needed protection. It seemed that a band of pirates had taken over the place, killing off the guards and pressuring the local businesses. Usually, as far as she could tell, pirates struck, took what they could, and ran. Behavior like this was, by far, quite unusual. They acted like they owned the place. But Mi-na didn't care; she only thought of it as a way to work on her skills and earn some cash at the same time. However, when she actually visited the place, she thought twice about not caring.

The streets were completely deserted, and the entire town was as silent as a tomb. Several buildings were nothing more than black, smoldering ruins -- those that were still standing had been locked up tight. Here and there, she found dead bodies lying in the street, surrounded by a pool of dried blood, completely stripped of any valuables. Normally, she would look for the people in charge to settle a fee, but she realized that they would either be unwilling to come out and talk to her, or dead. It was practically a ghost town, but every now and then she would hear muffled noises and fearful whispers from behind closed window shutters as she passed.

'By the gods… this is horrible…'

Her train of thought was derailed as someone called out to her. "Nice weapon you've got there."

She turned around and came face to face with a roughshod man carrying a four-foot-long katana. He had a cocksure look about him, as if he was used to having things handed to him without much resistance. And sure enough, he said, "I'll take it now, and you can be on your way. That weapon should make a nice addition to our arsenal." The man's eyes gleamed maliciously. "You should consider yourself lucky. Normally, I'd love to have some fun with a lady as pretty as you, but I already finished myself up on some little whore not too long ago. You should be grateful for that much." He extended an open hand towards her, expecting Mi-na to toss the guan-dao to him. "Now, hand it over."

Instead of attacking him outright, she smirked humorlessly and said, "You want it, do you? I suppose I could give it to you... but that wouldn't be any fun. How about you come over here and take it?"

He sneered and said, "Fine, I will." He whistled, which brought out about five more thugs from various alleyways. They were all armed in similar ways, and had matching looks: none of them looked as if they had washed, shaved, or even changed their clothes for days.

"Scratch that... _we_ will." With that, they surrounded her, getting ready to attack. She simply stood there, waiting for them to strike first. As Mi-na waited, she emptied her mind. It was easier to do now -- all of three seconds had passed before a serene smile had spread across her features.

However, the smile held no warmth. Though she had cleared her mind, the images of burned houses and dead bodies were still fresh in her subconscious.

"What the hell's so funny?" the first man said. "Well, whatever the joke is, I'm sure you'll have the gods laughing it up. Now, will someone please wipe that smile off of her face and replace it with something a bit more appropriate?"

And sure enough, she heard something to her right- an incoming cut that was almost sure to cleave her head off at the neck.

Almost.

She ducked underneath the attack, sweeping her right leg towards his ankles. Simultaneously, she swung her guan dao outwards, the six foot long weapon ramming into her attacker's side. He was quickly swept off of his feet, and there were muffled popping sounds as several of his ribs were snapped mercilessly. He flew a considerable distance before landing on the ground in a broken pile, and Mi-na straightened up once again, seemingly unbothered by the fact that she had probably sentenced a man to die slowly and horribly from internal bleeding.

Then again, why would she feel anything for any for these thieves, murderers, and rapists? They spared no mercy, and so, they would receive none either…

The men were surprised by such a quick and efficient response, but that didn't stop them from rushing to attack her, all at once. Someone from behind reached her first, and met the heel of her left foot as she kicked the wind out of him. He wouldn't be getting up any time soon. At the same time, she thrust the long handled broadsword forward, piercing another assailant's stomach.

This guy wouldn't be getting back up, ever.

Following through from there, she quickly moved out of the way of the other attackers and jumped into a defensive stance, still smiling.

"What are all of you waiting for? Get her!"

They weren't complete idiots, though, and most of them held back as they considered what they should do next. Still, one of them ran forward blindly in an attempt to hack her limbs off. A cut to her head was deflected effortlessly, and he was subsequently knocked backwards by a firm kick to his chest. He stumbled back several feet, but he regained his balance and came at her again, thrusting towards her midsection. Her blade intercepted, but he didn't stop there. He kept on going as she moved back, slicing wildly at Mi-na. She sidestepped a wild downward swing meant to cut through her, and he received a smack on the back of his head from the butt end of her weapon, knocking him flat on his stomach. Without hesitation, she stomped on the side of his skull, splitting it open like a ripe fruit.

The rest of them came at her head on, but they accomplished no more than the man she had just killed. The one in front had the displeasure of having his weapon deflected before being rammed forcefully into the man behind him, knocking them both to the ground. The other two were forced to eat her blade as she turned and swung her guan dao one handed, taking them both out by slicing their skulls in half.

Two remained. One of them had lost the will to fight, and simply sat there, quivering with fear. But the leader, the one who had first demanded that she hand over her weapon, leveled his sword briefly, and just ran straight at her. Mi-na simply pivoted on her left foot and slashed him across his the right side of his stomach before he could reach her. He cried out in pain as he toppled to his left, bleeding profusely from the wound.

As the man lay on the ground, clutching at his wound, Mi-na approached him, and he made a weak, desperate slash at her right leg as she drew closer. She blocked his attack quite easily, and trapped his wrist underneath her right foot, twisting slightly to make him drop the sword. Pressing the edge of her blade against his neck, she spoke to him with a cold, casual tone that convinced the bandit that she was the Angel of Death, come to collect his soul.

That deceptively calm smile hadn't left her face, not even briefly, during the entire battle.

"I have to say, I'm severely tempted to gut you like a fish for what you've done to these poor people. However, I need someone to give your boss, whoever he is, a message: Leave, or die. Now go."

She stepped away, and the man who was lucky enough to have received only bruises from Mi-na hurried over and helped his injured companion to stand. Together, they hurried away, glancing fearfully over their shoulders at her several times before disappearing around a corner.

"That felt good," she said to herself as she rested the grip of her weapon against her shoulder. "I almost hope some of them are stupid enough to try and jump me again."

And that's when the cheering started. All around her, windows and doors flew open to reveal people celebrating her victory. The townsfolk had seen the whole fight. Mi-na smiled and bowed slightly to them. This would be more fun than she thought! Of course, there would likely be more of those measly runts to deal with, but she was confident that she would be able to take care of business. That was what she had come here to do, after all.

* * *

During the next few days, she would realize that the town was much bigger than she had first thought. It would take time in order to get all of this straightened out, so she stayed at a training hall for the duration of her time there. It was a very comfortable place, and they had all sorts of weapons there for her to train with. After all, she was proficient with more than one weapon. The students there had heard of her victory against the small band of pirates, and a few of them wondered how they would fare against her. 

Needless to say, they didn't do so well. She didn't kill anyone, but many of them ended up with several bruises to show for their folly.

After engaging in a number of conflicts with several more bandits over the course of the next week, she realized that the problem wasn't going to be resolved for quite a while at this rate. 'Damn. I'm not here to play babysitter! If these guys would just do as I asked and leave, it wouldn't be a problem -- I'd be out of here. Then again, if they didn't cause any more trouble, I wouldn't get the opportunity to improve my skills. And I wouldn't earn my keep, either.' So after a couple more days, and a few more small skirmishes, she decided to finish things once and for all.

Like they say… cut off the head, and the body dies.

Knowing perfectly well what to expect once she set foot inside the building where they were holed up (and not caring in the least), she simply marched right up to the entrance of the castle, in broad daylight. She was stopped by two men who stood guard before the front door, demanding that she halt as they raised their swords.

Her response was simple: she swung her guan dao in a wide arc with one hand and cleaved them in two, slicing straight through their midsections. The others bandits inside heard the commotion, and as she walked in she was met by a large group of pirates. Without even slowing down, she continued walking forward as they charged towards her... and she started cleaning house, for lack of a better term.

Wide swings, artful circles, expert twirls. Any blades that managed to get anywhere near her were blocked or avoided as she moved with speed that was surprising for someone holding such a heavy weapon, weaving her way through the crowd, cutting this way and that. Many of the pirates did their best to keep their distance, but one-by-one they fell in the face of her assault.

Soon, their numbers dwindled. Men were knocked this way and that, and drops of blood painted the walls as her blade found its mark time and time again. Armor was sliced like rice paper by her guan dao, and her kicks snapped bones as if they were twigs. Of course, this commotion attracted the attention of their leader... which was exactly what she had been planning.

In the midst of dispatching another combatant, Mi-na heard something from behind her. As she turned to look, she noticed that all the other pirates had backed away, leaving only her and one man standing in the middle of a large circle. Even as she turned, she was forced to lean back as not one, but two blades sliced towards her head, aiming to shear it off like a pair of scissors.

He missed, but barely, and it had been close enough for her to feel the wind on her face. She didn't even have time to settle into a stance before he struck again. This time both swords came down from above, and she instinctively blocked them with the shaft of her weapon. Immediately, she pushed forward, forcing her opponent to stumble back and give her some breathing room. Mi-na retreated as well to give herself the chance to regroup and assess this new opponent, whirling her guan dao expertly as she did so.

As she settled into a fighting stance, she regarded her attacker. He was taller than her, and looked like he was in his late forties. Unlike his men, he was actually clean and shaven. Mi-na inclined her head and said, "I presume you're the one who leads this little outfit." Her opponent nodded once. "Didn't you get my message? I said, 'leave or die.'"

He nodded again. "I got it. And I ignored it. I don't listen to impudent women who don't know their place." He looked down his nose at her, as if he were a teacher lecturing a child who had misbehaved. "On top of that, you've injured or killed most of my best men. How am I supposed to run this city effectively if I don't have a staff?"

Mi-na's eyes narrowed dangerously. That was a bad sign... But all those years learning under Kong had taught her to control her temper, and she remained where she stood instead of attacking him blindly. "You call those men your best? Well, they certainly weren't very good, and I'd bet you aren't much better."

He smirked confidently. "Foolish girl. You have no idea what I'm capable of. But you're about to find out!"

No sooner had he finished his sentence when he rushed forward, thrusting his blades alternately at her again and again. She focused on blocking each surprisingly quick attack, and both fighters became a blur of motion. Though it was a challenge for her to deflect each blow, she didn't mind in the least. She hated being ridiculed for being female as much as she hated being called a child. Unfortunately for the man she was fighting, that anger was controlled now; harnessed to her advantage.

But anger wasn't going to be enough, as evidenced by the way he managed to land a kick on her midsection. She managed to prevent herself from flying through the air by rooting her stance to the ground at the last moment, causing her to slide backwards instead of sail. But a hit was a hit, and he kept on coming. She was forced on to the defensive, since she didn't have room to counterattack yet. However, after dodging a downwards swing with his right sword, she was finally presented with an opportunity. She struck him with the back end of her guan dao as she evaded the attack, and followed up with a solid roundhouse kick to his head. As he stumbled back, he was almost nailed by her next attack- she hopped into the air, bringing her blade around in a full circle before swinging it down toward his face.

However, despite being dazed by her kick, he was still able to block with one sword, and use the other to cut at her exposed midsection.

Score.

A thin red line appeared on her stomach, but she ignored the sting of the minor wound as she landed and settled into a defensive stance again. He slashed at her once more, but she was ready, and blocked his attack as she retreated quickly. "Well, what do you think of me now?" he bellowed in the midst of another attack. "Do you still think I'm no good!?"

She replied smoothly as she blocked another strike. "What you are is loud and annoying, and if you think giving me one little scratch means something..."

Block, block, sidestep... and just like before, he received another knock on the head, sending him sprawling to the ground several feet away.

"...You've got another thing coming."

The man picked himself up quickly, took a moment to regroup, and blitzed forward yet again. She had to give him a bit of credit- he had the mindset of constant attack. It was a good strategy, but not a very controlled one. His swords were a blur, constantly stabbing and cutting at her, but he was incapable of landing another hit: every attack was either dodged by her flexible body and skilled footwork, or stopped cold by her sturdy guan dao. Finally, frustrated by his lack of progress, he made the mistake of throwing most of his weight into another thrust. She sidestepped it easily, and he teetered off balance, giving her the chance to smack him around with the flat of her blade. His face felt as if it were on fire as he staggered backwards, watching the spots that danced before his eyes.

This time, he wouldn't get the chance to recover. Mi-na took a few steps forward and lashed out with her powerful legs, once... twice... and a third time with a spinning kick to the head. The pirate spiraled to the ground, landing flat on his back. Completely dazed, he could only lay there as she pressed the blade of her guan dao against his neck and looked up to speak to the other pirates that had been watching the battle. Her voice was as cold and smooth as a block of ice.

"Go away and never come back, 'cause if you do, I will not hesitate to kill each and every one of you."

They didn't have to be told twice. Every man that could still stand hauled ass out of there, stopping only to help their wounded comrades limp through the door.

Mi-na turned her attention back to the man on the floor, and sighed as she kicked his weapons away from him. "I have to thank you for this fight," she said, studying his face in the same manner a scientist would study an interesting specimen. "Unlike your boys, you gave me a good idea of how well I'm doing." She glanced down at the red line across her stomach, which was starting to sting smartly. "Ugh… Apparently, I still have some learning to do." She returned her gaze to his face… and, suddenly, her expression hardened as she fixed him with a stare that sent a chill down the man's spine.

"What you did to this town… these people… is unforgivable."

With that, she raised her right foot, aimed it towards his head, and wiped her face clean of expression.

"Good night."

WHAM.

* * *

Another two years had passed. Now nineteen years old, Mi-na had fought so many battles she had lost count. The rod style she had learned under Kong's tutelage was a solid part of her now, and she had made a name for herself across China. The Korean woman would do any job for a decent price -- well, almost any job, as long as it held to her code of ethics. By this time she had developed a strong sense of right and wrong, and it was one of the things that made her so different from most other mercenaries. Though this occasionally deprived her of opportunities to make money, she more than made up for it with her skill and reputation. Many people were willing to pay a high price for someone like her. 

But now she had caught the attention of the Emperor... which had the potential to be a very good thing or a very bad thing. On one hand, she would be set for a good, long while if she did well. On the other, if she failed, not only would her reputation be ruined, but there was also the possibility that she might be executed. But the payoff was greater than the risks -- because the mission was the retrieval Soul Edge.

Fortunately, she wouldn't be working alone this time -- she would be part of a group that would disguise itself as an opera troupe as they searched for it. This group consisted of Emperor's own personal guards, the leader of which was one Chai Xianghua, their Captain. Of course, Mi-na had heard of the Chai family by now -- her travels had taken her to quite a few places, and their names had come up more than once. Xianghua, on the other hand, had heard little about Mi-na, having heard only a few rumors that Korean woman was supposed to be a fierce fighter.

'I suppose I should find out more about her... we're going to be traveling together for quite some time, after all.'

So one night, Xianghua decided to speak with her new subordinate. Try to reach a common ground of sorts. But Mi-na wasn't in her room in the summer palace, so the young Captain went scouting around the palace grounds for her. While walking around, she heard something in the flower garden. She went to investigate, and there, on the stage just before the Emperor's empty throne, was a woman garbed in red and gold, practicing with her guan dao all by herself.

'That must be her...'

But instead of the wild, crazy fighting style that Xianghua had heard about, the woman's movements were slow; graceful. For a while, Xianghua simply stood there and watched as the older woman practiced. Mi-na only sped up whenever the technique she was using required it. She was almost completely silent – the only noise she made was the barely-audible humming of that long, heavy weapon as it traveled through the air, which was, in itself, quite an impressive sight.

'How heavy is that damn thing? It must weigh a hundred pounds, maybe more. How can she do that? And what is that style? I've never seen anything like it...'

The sixteen-year-old didn't even realize that the woman was finished until she heard her clearing her throat. "Do you need something? I don't mind you watching, but if you just sit there staring like that, I'll start thinking that something's wrong."

Xianghua blinked a few times and shook her head. Had she really been staring? A little embarrassed, she walked across the bridge that led to the center of the garden and made her way over to the stage. To Mi-na's pleasant surprise (though she didn't let her astonishment show), she spoke in Korean. "I just wanted to talk for a bit. Get to know you before our mission. My name is..."

Mi-na held up a hand to stop her and smiled. Her brown eyes seemed to fix the younger woman's own in place. "...Chai Xianghua. I know. I've heard about you and your family. You know your Korean, sure enough -- I'm impressed. I'd like to know where you learned it, though," Mi-na said in fluent Mandarin.

Xianghua was surprised by the other woman's grasp of her native language as well, but continued talking without missing a beat. "I guess I should ask what your name is – but I don't think I have to, since I bet you're going to give it to me anyway."

The Korean's smile chuckled softly, and she nodded as she said, "My name is Seong Mi-na. Nice to -"

Xianghua cut her off in mid-sentence. "You're a _Seong_? As in, the famous family of martial arts masters from Korea?"

Mi-na raised an eyebrow. "Seems like you know your history as well.

Xianghua's head bobbed up and down eagerly. "I know all about you guys. Most of the men from your school have gone on to join the military, right?"

Mi-na's smile faded considerably, and she nodded again. "Yeah. Most of the men, none of the women. To tell you the truth, I kinda envy you."

The cheery young Captain stopped there. "Ah... I see. Well, don't worry. China is a place where a woman who's good with a weapon is appreciated. And don't be envious -- I want us to be friends!"

Mi-na smiled again, her mood significantly improved. "All right."

Xianghua glanced at the stage behind Mi-na, and a thought occurred to her. Her hand dropped to her sword belt (which she wore even at this time of night) as she said, "Well then, since we're friends now, how about a friendly spar? Naturally, I have to test your abilities to see if you're fit to travel with us. Rumors and stories aren't enough."

Mi-na shrugged and said, "I dunno. Can it wait until tomorrow? I'm kind of tired."

The younger woman was insistent. "Nonsense! I've always wanted to see what your family is all about! Besides, it shouldn't matter if you're tired or not. We'll be on the move at night too -- so let's get to it!"

Mi-na sighed and said, "Alright. But don't say that you didn't ask for it when I win."

Xianghua smirked. "If you win."

Mi-na chuckled. "Fine, you're on!"

* * *

A Prelude, Part 2- The Life and Times of Seong Mi-na 

Author's Note: Frankly, this chapter should have been longer. Much longer. But since a flashback wasn't worth all that jazz, I decided to leave it as is. I dunno -- perhaps your reviews will provide a change in the flow of this chapter. This brings me to my next section -- REVIEW THIS STORY. It will help quite a bit in the development of further chapters. Tell me what's good, tell me what's bad, and tell me without flames.

Once again, thanks for reading. I'm going to sleep now. _Oyasumi_.

Beta's Note: Hello people! Master Nemesis here, Kanto's good friend and beta. It took me hours to give this chapter a good polish, and I hope you like the final product. Be sure to stop by my profile sometime and read one of my stories. That is all. Thank you, and good night!


	3. A Prelude, Part 3: A Destiny Revealed

Chai Xianghua. Age sixteen. Born Friday, April 2nd, 1571 in the Ming capital of Peking. The largest city in the world at the time, it was known as a Mecca of trade, travel, and most of all, the martial arts. Amidst this background of cultural exchange was an influential family that had produced seasoned warriors of China for generations – the Chai.

The temple that was the pride of this age's martial arts community was the Ling-Sheng Su, and its monks were legendary for their fighting prowess. Chai Xiangfei was born in the area around the mountain, and her father sent her to the temple in order to train in the art of Tai Chi Jian. The woman proved to be a natural at swordplay, going so far as to surpass those who taught her their once-secret arts. Though she felt angry that her gender made her ineligible to become a candidate for the temple's sacred sword, Krita-Yuga, she managed to content herself with the knowledge that she was the temple's most skilled swordsperson.

After the death of her father, Xiangfei increased her training regimen tenfold to dull the pain of loss, and it was during this time that she had an encounter that would affect her for the rest of her life. One of her trainers, a monk named Kong Xiuqiang, caught her fancy. Unfortunately, the relationship was ill-fated from the beginning; in a rather cruel twist of fate, Xiangfei discovered that the man she had fallen in love with was the most prominent candidate to inherit the temple's sacred staff, Kali-Yuga. And in order to be a legitimate candidate, one had to stick to the true path and maintain a vow of chastity. Thus, such an illicit romance was forbidden.

But neither of them seemed to care.

Though they managed to keep it a secret for quite some time, few people ever think clearly when they are in love. Through these clandestine meetings, a child was conceived. The child's name was Xianglian. Much later in her life, Xianglian would play a critical role in shaping the fate of the world, though neither parent knew it. However, Xiangfei would never get to see her first daughter grow up, because the temple had finally discovered their affair. They adopted the child as an 'orphan' on her second birthday, despite the spirited protests of her parents.

This weighed heavily on Xiangfei's heart. Soon, she decided to leave the temple. Xiuqiang was urged by his sworn brother, Han Dongxiu, to leave with his lover and start a family to 'create his own destiny', but the man was insistent on staying at the temple in order to complete his training, so he could atone for the wrongs he had committed. Chai Xiangfei agreed with his decision, and said her goodbyes.

However, she would not be leaving without a farewell present.

Dongxiu aided Xiuqiang in sneaking a vital treasure out of the temple – the sacred Krita-Yuga. It served as a promise that Xiangfei and Xiuqiang would meet again someday. Unbeknownst to the monk, who would later be exiled from the temple for what he had done, his love had also left with a second child. Born months after Xiangfei had surreptitiously returned to Peking and began living in the Chai family household, this girl was named Xianghua.

By the age of four, the impetuous girl was beginning to show the same level of skill as her mother with the Ling-Sheng Su's Tai Chi Jian form. Training with her mother's old sword, which was the Krita-Yuga in its concealed form, she began displaying remarkable talent. Her mother, meanwhile, was distinguishing herself within the ranks of the Ming Emperor's personal guards, and soon she became a valuable asset to the Dynasty. Unfortunately, after Xianghua's tenth birthday, her beloved mother passed away.

"You were born to carry out an important task," Xiangfei said to her daughter as she breathed her last. "Cut your own path through the future, however unpredictable it may be..."

These words would remain with Xianghua as she continued training for the next six years. So proficient was she at swordplay that she entered the Imperial Guard at the tender age of sixteen.

She would soon find out just how unpredictable the future could be...

* * *

Within the gardens of the Ming Emperor, a duel was being staged, and a rather impromptu one at that. It wasn't very polite of the younger woman to insist that her new nineteen-year-old friend fight her at this hour, but she simply could not wait. The two of them had already moved into ready stances, waiting for the other to act first. However, both girls were perfectly aware of the other's reputation, and neither wanted to make the first move. Still, someone would have to attack eventually, and after years of training and practice, Mi-na had learned to control herself, and she was no longer so eager to rush headlong into a confrontation.

Xianghua was not so patient.

"Here I come!" she shouted as she ran forward, sword pointed towards her adversary. She had to close the distance, since she was the one with the disadvantage of a shorter weapon range. Mi-na swung the broadsword ever so slightly to the right, knocking the incoming attack away. But it wasn't actually an attack. The follow-up, however, was. Xianghua turned and swung to her left, an attack that Mi-na also blocked, sparks flying from the two blades as they clashed. To the right, and another block... and then Xianghua turned again, dodging Mi-na's incoming downwards chop. However, she was shocked to learn that the Korean was indeed as fast as the stories had said... She had to raise her sword, tip towards the ground, in order to block a horizontal swipe directed at her chest.

'What!? How did she-'

And while she was thinking about that, Mi-na was pressing her advantage. She moved in once again, stepping forward and ramming the back end of her guan dao into the small of Xianghua's back... before sending a right roundhouse kick snapping into her face. The younger woman stumbled backwards, and the older fighter came charging in again. The last thing Xianghua saw was Mi-na's massive weapon being twirled around as if it weighed no more then ten pounds... before she had to block once again as the cheek of the blade came to ram against her right side. After that, all she had to do was give the younger woman another nudge with said blade and sent her opponent staggering again.

The guard captain's hands were shaking and her grip was so tight, her knuckles were bone-white. The blade of her double-edged sword trembled, while the as-yet unperturbed Mi-na settled into a loose stance.

'She's good...' thought Xianghua. 'She's got the advantage and she knows it. That's why she's so aggressive. How am I supposed to close the distance when she's so damned fast?'

And against a long, heavy, and unusually agile weapon, no less.

The Seong prodigy, while still unassuming, was a bit disappointed. She had been through many battles by now – she had come to expect much of her opponents these days. This so-called guard captain, the youngest of the Chai family, was supposed to be the toughest opponent she'd had yet. Still, she wasn't arrogant enough to let her guard down... or hold back. Mi-na wasn't the type to let an opponent come to her unless she had to. Her legs tensed as she prepared to charge forth.

'I should end this quickly. No sense in playing around.'

With that, she got a move on. The world seemed to blur around her. Xianghua settled into her fight stance as soon as she noticed Mi-na approaching at a very hi- whoops, she was already here! The older fighter thrust her weapon towards Xianghua's head, which forced the Chinese woman on the defensive again. The thrust was deflected with the cheek of her sword, but Mi-na quickly followed up by hopping back a step and rushing forward again with a flurry of stabs. Block, block, two more blocks... and then, on the fifth attack, Xianghua met the attack with her sword, twisted backwards in order to get the attack out of the way and behind her... and then turned back around, lunging forward and thrusting towards the Korean's pretty face.

'Gotcha!'

Unfortunately, Mi-na had enough sense to bend backwards before the attack could make contact, the weapon clearing the front of her face by inches.

'What the hell!?'

Mi-na whistled appreciatively. "Not bad. Excellent parry," she said before withdrawing her guan dao and kicking at Xianghua's exposed midsection at the same time with her right foot. The younger woman was sent sprawling to the ground roughly four feet away while Mi-na slipped into a stance again. "I guess you're the real thing, all right. If you had come at someone who wasn't ready for that, they'd be dead."

By now, Xianghua was quite frustrated, and quickly pulled herself off the ground. "I'm not going to be beaten **before we even start!!!**" With that declaration, she started walking forward again, the blade twisting and whirling around her person. Mi-na waited for her calmly, wondering what exactly she was going to do this time. As Xianghua moved within striking range, the Korean woman pressed forward, thrusting with her guan dao towards the incoming opponent.

Not this time – Xianghua turned gracefully to her right, and ducked low as Mi-na swung the long-handled broadsword in a horizontal swipe. This was followed up by a low swing in the opposite direction, and Xianghua jumped over the weapon, twisting through the air before landing and advancing further. Mi-na continued chopping and cutting, chuckling to herself as her young opponent continued advancing. She whipped the long weapon around like some kind of spear instead of a heavy broadsword, and the Chinese woman kept dodging the blade like a practiced acrobat.

Soon, Xianghua was close – she was almost near enough to score a hit... and when she was finally within range, Xianghua thrust her sword towards one of Mi-na's ankles, hoping to take away some of her mobility. Her opponent was quicker though, either in thinking or in reflexes, and positioned the rear end of her guan dao in order to stop the incoming attack, and lifted the targeted leg off the ground.

Xianghua pivoted and turned to her right, aiming to cut Mi-na's legs out from behind... and just as soon as she did, the Korean quickly lifted herself upwards while swinging her legs forward... and the weapon was cleared magnificently as she flipped backwards, taking the guan dao with her. But as soon as she landed, she found herself under attack again as Xianghua lunged forward, thrusting towards her opponent. The only thing she could do was swing the back end of her guan dao forwards, twisting to one side as she did so. Suddenly, they both froze.

Mi-na felt cold steel brushing against her skin, the edge of the blade pressing lightly against the side of her stomach, and Xianghua could feel the wood of the heavy weapon against her neck – specifically, against a particular pressure point on the left side. It would have taken her down quite quickly...

"I think that's enough," Mi-na said with a smile. "Is that proof enough for you?"

Xianghua nodded shakily. The Korean had almost gotten her that time – but at least her opponent would have gone down with her. The two women decided to call the match a draw. They were lucky that no one had heard them – otherwise, they would have had to endure some awkward questions. As the two women stepped back from one another to catch their breath, Xianghua couldn't help but feel a little excited. 'She is as good as they say. This might be the easiest task we've ever had! Too bad she's not doing it for free – that would be quite a bagrain. But you can't always get what you wish for.'

Mi-na, on the other hand, fixed Xianghua with a thoughtful brown-eyed stare. 'She's good. That was some decent technique and footwork before I almost put her down – I might have to watch out for her.'

Xianghua cocked her head to one side and asked, "What? Do I have something on my face?"

The older woman smiled and approached the palace guard, stopping just a few feet in front of her before leaning forward, staring directly into Xianghua's eyes. "No. You're just cute."

Xianghua blushed, her cheeks turning a shade of pink. "I'm not cute..." Then she grinned. "I'm sexy."

Mi-na blinked in surprise, momentarily taken aback, and grinned widely. "I like your style! You know, I think we're going to become great friends..."

* * *

Mi-na almost laughed as she saw the theatrical costumes lined up in front of them. "Please don't tell me we're gonna be wearing all THAT."

Xianghua nodded, trying to suppress her own laughter as well. Since they were going to be disguised as a traveling opera troupe, they would need to look the part. However, the local theater had provided them with so many props, costumes, and instruments it wasn't even funny.

Well, okay, it was a little funny.

"Hey, if it makes you laugh, think about how funny it'll be to all the people who'll be watching us perform." The Korean nodded, glad that she would be doing something besides fighting for once. As she looked over all the theater items in front of her, Mi-na's thoughts turned to Soul Edge, and she wondered where they would be going first.

'I doubt we'll find it in China, and all the stories in the West seem to have died off as well,' she thought to herself. It was as if the Soul Edge had dropped off the face of the earth. Still, that wouldn't stop her from searching for it until it was found. It seemed like everything that the Korea Coastal Defense Force tried against the Japanese raiders either wasn't effective enough, or simply not working at all. The small contingent of pirates she had dealt with a few years back, as well as the hundreds more she had fought over the years, were only a small fraction of the larger problem.

Obtaining the so-called 'Sword of Heroes' was the only option left.

However, she couldn't worry about the predicament of her home country, as much as it pained her, lest she be distracted from her quest. For the time being, she needed to focus on following any leads that she might find. Still, she realized that she couldn't believe everything she heard... including that bit about Soul Edge being evil. But the seed of doubt had been planted, and she couldn't help wondering what the nature of the mythical sword was.

'Best to find out for myself.'

Naturally, since it was damned near impossible to know what was what these days, the group of warriors had to play things by ear, and traveled to the nearest city. Barely a week after they had set out, they happened upon a rumor of something that might have been related to Soul Edge. Monsters had attacked a port city in India, just beyond the Himalayas. However, they would have to cross the rugged mountain range in order to discover whether this rumor was true or not, and the troupe was not entirely ready for a trip along the forbidding, frozen cliffs. Instead, they chose to spend a little more time in the city, Yunnan Fu, so they could give a performance and wait to hear anything else. One night, they heard of a pair of men within the city who had, supposedly, survived the monster attack.

One was a monk of some sort, and the other was a pirate from the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Mi-na was not bothered by the occupation of the latter. She had dealt with pirates before, and she would put him down quickly if he tried something stupid. Still, nowadays, the Korean never fought unless she had to – so she would leave him alone, provided he did the same. But if he did anything to endanger her, Xianghua, or the rest of the group... he would pay for it dearly.

But when they went to see whether the rumor was true or not, the situation turned out much different than Mi-na had expected.

They went to the teahouse that the pair was supposedly staying at, went inside, and got something to eat as they tried to spot these men that they had heard about. Naturally, Xianghua insisted that she pay for everyone's meals, including Mi-na's. Her companion tried to protest – by now, she had earned more than enough money to take care of herself. But when she told Xianghua so, the Chinese woman just beamed. "Look, it's the least I can do. Besides, what are friends for, if not to provide free food?"

The older woman smiled and laughed softly. "Alright, alright…" She thought it was admirable of her to pay for everyone, even if it was only a drop in the bucket for a member of the Chai family.

It was then that a man caught the Korean's attention, out of the corner of her eye. Scars lined his upper torso. A very odd sash with mirrors all along its surface was slung across his right shoulder. He had brown hair and eyes... and a staff that looked almost new, as if it had never been touched before. Next to him was another man, with a black curl of hair that hung oddly in front of his face. He was dressed a bit oddly… and the way he held himself reminded Mi-na of many of the pirates she had fought over the years.

She decided to wait until they had found someplace to sit before approaching the pair. On the second floor of the expansive tea house, which overlooked the first like a balcony, the opera troupe seated themselves at a couple of unoccupied tables. Xianghua found herself sitting across from Mi-na, who was watching the men on the floor below.

As she studied her friend in the soft lighting of the teahouse, Xianghua was suddenly struck by how… _pretty_ Mi-na looked. Her long brown hair shone like silk, and her smooth, toned skin seemed to glow serenely. Xianghua's gaze traced her graceful features, set so firmly in an expression of concentration.

She didn't realize that she had begun to stare.

That's when she looked into those bottomless pools of almond-brown – those deep, captivating eyes that had the ability to hold one's attention like a vise. The younger woman suddenly felt as if she could fall into those eyes, and be lost in them forever… and for some reason, that idea didn't bother her at all.

Mi-na wasn't even aware that the other woman was staring at her, completely entranced. Thus, when she turned to look at her traveling companion, she had to raise an eyebrow as she met her friend's dreamy gaze. "Um... Xianghua?"

Abruptly, the Chinese warrior snapped out of her trance, blinking a few times as her conscious thoughts came rushing back to her. "What?"

Mi-na dismissed it as a temporary lapse in the younger woman's focus, and leaned closer to whisper to her. "Those two at the front, when we came in, did you see 'em?" Xianghua nodded. She had indeed noticed them, but she hadn't put two and two together until now. Mi-na continued speaking in a low, almost conspiratorial tone. "I think they're the ones that survived that monster attack we heard about. I can feel it."

Xianghua blinked. "You're sure?"

Mi-na shrugged and replied, "I don't know. I think it's worth finding out, though."

The younger woman glanced at the floor below, and said, "You got any ideas on how to get them to talk to us about it?" Mi-na had to think about that. She was reluctant to just walk up to them and ask about what happened, and she didn't think it was wise to ask about the Soul Edge, either. There were far too many people that might overhear their conversation.

Still, it couldn't be helped. They needed that information.

"We'll just have to get up, go over there, and ask them. We don't really have much of a choice. We have no other leads."

Xianghua nodded in agreement. She could see the sense in the Korean's words – if they didn't get the information now, they might not get another chance. "Okay then. Let's go."

* * *

A few minutes earlier…

The two men sat alone at a small table, far away from the other teahouse patrons. The brown-haired young man's head hung dejectedly, as if he were trying to hide behind his bangs. His staff was propped up against a nearby wall... very nearby... and the odd, crystalline sash was slung around his right shoulder. The man's eyes seemed to be blank; distant and lifeless.

'I've done it again... just like that night.'

The black-haired man with the odd, brightly colored clothing was apparently trying to cheer his companion up… trying and failing, it seemed. He had been attempting to talk his friend out of his depression for a whole hour now, trying to get him to see that, even if things were bad, there was always a silver lining. "Come on man... say _something_, will ya? You haven't spoken once since we escaped that damned place, and frankly, it's starting to worry me."

Well, it was more irritating than it was worrisome... but he didn't say that.

At that point, the mirrored sash that the brown-haired man carried flashed momentarily, reacting to something. The reflective, crystalline surfaces radiated light for a brief moment, as if the sun had decided to pay a brief visit. It was barely noticeable to anyone who wasn't paying attention, but it caught the black-haired man's attention. He had, since the battle in which he had met the monk, discovered that the mirrored sash known as Dvapara-Yuga had mystical properties. It acted as a metaphysical barrier against negative energies – a shield, if you will.

And if it were removed... well, he had seen the effects of that firsthand.

He saw the sash react, and then he saw the reflection of two women heading towards their table. Well, there were also several men with them, but it was the women who caught his attention. Within the depths of the crystal, he noticed that one of them carried an ordinary looking straight sword, sheathed at the right hip. Nothing special about it at a glance. She was a pretty thing – five feet even, dark brown hair, eyes of the same color. Delicate face, gentle curves – cute, in other words.

The other woman was taller by a foot, and had a much longer weapon. Longer, larger, and much heavier-looking. The weapon must have weighed about ninety pounds – perhaps more – and she carried it around as if it were some kind of toy. The woman herself was stunning. Not cute-stunning. The shape of her body was much more pleasing to the eye, so to speak. More mature. Brown hair, a lighter shade than her younger friend, and eyes of the same color. Said eyes immediately captured his attention, though he was only looking at her reflection in the sash. They were both lookers, but this one had more to offer. And there was a look of confidence about her. He liked that.

When he looked away from the sash to check them out directly… they had already walked past the table, heading for the stairs. The man with black hair turned towards his companion again, saying "Oi! Did you just see -"

The man had not. He still had his head down.

'Damn, this guy's becoming a pain in the ass.'

He raised a hand as the group of people went upstairs, signaling to a waitress that he wanted another cup of wine. He was going to need it, if he planned on continuing to hang out with this guy.

However, three cups later, he wasn't feeling any better. Still, at least the brown-haired man before him was starting to show signs of life.

"Hey, you're awake. Just in time for a cup or two, hmm?"

The brown-haired man shook his head, smiling politely. "Thanks, no. I will be fine. So, where do you think we should go now? Our means of fast travel is gone ever since that attack. Since we don't really have enough money for horses, I doubt that we'll be doing anything but walking."

This, by the way, was fine with him. But not his friend.

"Are you NUTS? Look, I still have plenty of money. Did you think just because my ship is gone means I have nothing? Please, don't be stupid."

The brown-haired man raised his hands defensively. "Alright, alright." At this point, the monk looked behind his companion. "Hey... someone's coming." The pirate turned... and raised an eyebrow. It was those girls again.

'I think my day just got a bit better.'

* * *

Mi-na and Xianghua took stock of the two men sitting before them. One of them had a smug look on his face – he seemed pretty sure of himself. Mi-na noticed that he had a pair of hardwood nunchaku tucked into his sash. He smiled, and she smiled back politely. She didn't really appreciate the suggestive looks he was giving her, but she held back any harsh criticism and scathing glares – they needed information, and she didn't want this guy to be uncooperative.

"You guys mind if we sit here?" Xianghua asked, smiling brightly. The man with black hair shrugged and the brown-haired man shook his head. The two women took seats. "So, why are you guys hanging out here, all alone? I'm sure there are plenty of other, friendlier places to be."

The man with black hair smirked. "And are you two offering to get friendly with us? Because I got plenty of time." The man with brown hair gave him a disapproving look, but chose not to say anything.

Mi-na glanced at Xianghua, who was obviously bewildered and turning a deep shade of crimson – obviously, she'd never had to deal with this kind of thing before. As Mi-na had feared, the man was going to be a nuisance, though not in the manner she had expected. Still, as long as they got the information they needed, she could put up with it. For now, she remained quiet, waiting for the right time to speak.

Mi-na's face was a calculated mask of indifference, and she watched both men closely, watching for any signs of discomfort or deception. By now, Xianghua had talked up a storm, shyly attempting to escape the topic of 'getting friendly'. So far, it was working, and she had both men chatting away quite freely. She even managed to get one of them to reveal his name: at one point, she accidentally called the black-haired man Li Long (she didn't know why, but it had just felt like an appropriate name for him), and he laughed before correcting her – his name was Maxi.

'Maxi, huh? Interesting name…' thought Mi-na, who turned her attention to his companion after that. 'Hmmm... I wonder why his buddy's so quiet?'

She noted all the scars that could be seen through the front of his open shirt... she couldn't help but wonder how he had gotten so many. The young man noticed her intense gaze and looked back, unblinkingly. His brown eyes had a distant quality to them... but still regarded hers in an unflinching way. Mi-na couldn't help but nod, quite impressed with his ability to hold his ground. So she leaned forward a bit, placing her elbows on the table, and increased the intensity of her gaze. He wondered why she kept staring at him without saying a word, so he simply stared back.

That was a mistake. Soon, he was transfixed by the full force of her gaze. In her youth, Mi-na had discovered that she could get most of the boys at the dojang to do whatever she wanted, simply by giving them a certain look. Even her rival, Hwang Seong-gyeong, had been susceptible to her soft, brown, endlessly deep eyes. She didn't really understand why, but that didn't stop her from using the ability to her advantage.

At this point, Xianghua took a break from her conversation with Maxi to look over at her companion, and furrowed her eyebrows as she saw the way that Mi-na was leaning forward and staring intently into the eyes of the other man, who was responding in kind. For some reason, she felt… uncomfortable. She didn't know why, but she wanted them to stop…

Meanwhile, Maxi had also noticed the little exchange taking place between the Korean and his companion, and he grinned slyly. "Well, it seems my buddy here has taken an interest in your lady friend. Good for him, eh?" Xianghua didn't respond, wondering why the black-haired pirate's comment made her feel agitated, and just a little hurt…

"So," Mi-na said, once she was confident that she was in control of the situation, "What's your name?"

The brunet answered, clearly and smoothly, "Kilik."

Mi-na nodded. Well, that was one thing out of the way. "Nice name, that. So what's a guy like you doing in a place like this?"

Kilik responded in the same tone as before, without hesitation. "I'm on a quest. There's a great evil spreading in the West, and I have to dispel it. Maxi was going to take me over there with his crew, but monsters came and attacked us, and we were forced to flee. The ship's gone, the crew is dead, and we have no means of travel besides our own two feet."

Maxi's eyes shot wide open, and Xianghua blinked. Just like that, the monk had spilled their whole story to a woman he didn't even know in a neat, tight little summary. Needless to say, Maxi wasn't very happy, since the two of them had made an agreement earlier to keep all that information under wraps. "What the hell?" he hissed under his breath to Kilik, who didn't hear a single word he was saying. "What'd you have to go and do that for? We were supposed to keep this a secret! If this gets out, only God knows who or what is going to come after us!"

Mi-na pretended not to pay attention to his remark. "And I trust you know where this evil is coming from?"

Once again, his answer came forth without hesitation. "An evil blade called Soul Edge."

Mi-na's face was suddenly wiped clean of expression, and Xianghua's eyes became as round as saucers. There was a long, tense silence… then, hesitantly, the Korean asked, "How do you know?"

The response came with the swiftness and clarity of a mountain stream. "I have witnessed its evil firsthand. Every single brother and sister of my Order was massacred because of Soul Edge. I am the only surviving member of the Order."

As both women attempted to digest this disturbing information, Mi-na asked yet another question. "Could you take us with you, to find Soul Edge?"

As Kilik shrugged and agreed to her proposal with no hesitation, Maxi's eyes narrowed, and his hand drifted slowly towards his nunchaku. He was starting to get a bad feeling about this woman. However, Mi-na noticed the movement in her peripheral vision. Suddenly, there was the slap of flesh meeting flesh as her hand clamped on to the pirate's wrist, though her eyes did not stray away from Kilik's. "Hold on there. Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions. We can help you."

Maxi glared at her suspiciously, hiding his shock at how fast and strong she was. "And how the hell is a pair of girls supposed to help us, eh?"

Resisting the urge to snap his wrist after the 'girls' comment, Mi-na continued speaking. "I'm sure you noticed the group of men that went upstairs with us. Well, those are Imperial guards. They're with us. We're on a mission from the Emperor to find Soul Edge."

Maxi sneered. "Oh really? Well, even if you are working for the Empire – which I'm not entirely ready to believe – why would I wanna cooperate with a bunch of Imperial thugs?"

"Look," she said, "you can either lead us there of your own free will, with a whole group of Imperial soldiers to back you up, or we can have those nice men upstairs throw you into a dungeon until you tell us where it is. Your choice."

As much as Maxi hated authority and the government, he hated imprisonment and torture even more. "Fine," he hissed through his teeth, prompting the Korean woman to release his hand. He started rubbing his sore wrist tenderly, wondering what he had just gotten himself into. Meanwhile, Xianghua, who had been watching all of this, was having her own thoughts.

'The West... There have been no stories from that place for weeks, nor rumors – and now we come upon this. With the state this Kilik guy is in, I don't think he can lie… and that must mean that the Soul Edge really is evil.'

It was neither a warm nor friendly thought. It was, to say the least, disconcerting. The Emperor was looking for an evil weapon. There was no telling what'd he do with such an artifact of power, and it troubled the young woman. They couldn't let that happen.

Finally, Mi-na turned away from Kilik, finally breaking the spell. As he sat there and blinked repeatedly, wondering what in the world had possessed him to tell her all those things, Mi-na turned to look at Xianghua. The Royal Guard met her gaze, and nodded, understanding the silent message completely.

They had to destroy it. And the Emperor could not know about it, or their heads would roll. Hell, their heads would probably roll anyway. But no one could get their hands on this weapon, especially not someone in a position of power.

Xianghua turned to Kilik, and said, "Please, tell us more about this evil."

* * *

Within the span of a month, they had traveled from the Himalayan mountain range to the border of the Ming Empire, at which point they had to start following the old Silk Road. Mi-na had been along this route and back many times in her travels. The rest of the group, however, had not. But that did not stop Xianghua from pushing herself and the guards under her command forward. Fortunately for them, Mi-na knew the road quite well by now, so the headlong march was not blind. Heading out from Xi'an, they made their way out towards the West by horseback, stopping in one city after another along the ancient route. Of course, Kilik and Maxi accompanied them. After they had first started accompanying them, the two men were distrustful of the group. After traveling with them for a while, though, all the tension of the night at the teahouse slipped away, and both Mi-na and Xianghua found that they made pleasant traveling companions.

Still, their time in the Taklamakan desert wasn't without problems...

They traversed the unforgiving sands across the southern side of the desert, a route that many considered much easier to travel than the one to the north. That said, it was still indescribably hot. As if that weren't bad enough, the nights were even worse due to the temperature drop. It wasn't called the "Place of No Return" without good reason. Fortunately, they happened upon one of the oasis towns near the southwestern end of the desert, Hotan. When they came in sight of the city, he sun was on its downward arc, setting just in front of them and turning it into a dark, intimidating silhouette. To some, the black towers might have seemed forbidding, but to the weary travelers, it was a welcome sight.

The inn they found in town was more comfortable than they had expected, and quite roomy. Still, later that night, Mi-na wanted to be outside for once. Standing atop the roof as the cool, soft wind brushed through her brown hair, she considered what she would do when she made it to the West. At this rate, it wouldn't be long... and she wondered what would happen when she finally found it. It wasn't easy, learning that the object that she'd been seeking all these years to save her country was actually evil…

'And here I was, trying to be some kind of hero or something. I can't live in such a small world, believing in stories and legends.' She recalled someone saying that if she had such little knowledge about the Soul Edge, she should not have left home. Perhaps that woman had actually known what she'd been talking about.

Mi-na frowned. 'She's still an ass, though. Next time I see her, things will end differently.'

At that point, her thoughts turned to travel. She thought about her knowledge of the world, and how living such a secluded lifestyle in her youth had affected her. Perhaps it would be best if she stayed away from home for just a little bit longer... that was, after she had destroyed that accursed sword, so no one could go seeking it foolishly like she had, ever again.

"Can't sleep?"

The Korean turned her head to look over her left shoulder... and found Xianghua, looking enchanting in a silk robe. "Neither can I," said the younger woman as she sauntered over, and stopped beside the Korean woman, looking up at the night sky. "I hope you don't mind if I stay here with you for a bit, Mi-na."

The Seong prodigy shook her head and said, "No. I could use some company."

As the women stood beside one another, admiring the cloudless, diamond-specked sky, neither spoke. For once, the petit guard captain was silent as she stared contemplatively towards the heavens. However, a few minutes later, she whispered one word.

"Mother..."

Mi-na turned her head ever-so-slightly to look at her... and spotted a tear running down Xianghua's face. Mi-na was a little surprised – she had never seen her friend cry before. Not in front of her, anyway. She didn't know what to say... so she did the only thing she could think of: she reached over with her left arm and pulled her younger friend close, hugging her gently. Xianghua let it happen.

A minute passed… Two… Three... All spent in silence as the wind stirred their hair gently.

Finally, the silence was broken. This time, it was Mi-na.

"I... never knew my mother."

Xianghua looked up at her companion, eyes still shining with tears. "You didn't?"

Mi-na nodded. "She died when I was still a baby, so I didn't get the chance to really... y'know, connect. My brother died around the same time, too. After that, when I was old enough to start, my father started training me pretty hard. I didn't mind though – I loved it." Mi-na smiled, her eyes lighting up like candles. Seeing that look on Mi-na's face made Xianghua smile again. "There were so many weapons to play with, and my father taught me how to use most, if not all of them. Still, the fact of the matter is that in the end, he wanted a son." The younger woman remained silent as the tale continued, listening intently. Like that night at the teahouse, she found herself transfixed.

Time passed.

"… So he tried to get me hitched to my best friend. Key word here being 'tried'," she stated with a chuckle. "Apparently, he was trying to get him adopted into the family, and knew that there was only one way that would happen. And I had no say at all! So I figured, if I couldn't join the Coastal Defense Force, I just might prove myself otherwise."

Xianghua nodded. "So you went looking for the Soul Edge."

Mi-na scoffed. "Some help that turned out to be. I had barely left the school when I caught up to Seong-gyeong, and told him about the planned attack on our shores. We've got as much trouble with Japan as you guys do, and they're practically next door. Only problem was, he wouldn't let me go any further... and I got shipped right back to where I'd started. It hadn't even been a month."

Xianghua laughed. She couldn't help it – it was funny. "That had to be really embarrassing."

Mi-na smirked and said, "I don't get embarrassed."

Xianghua quirked an eyebrow and said, "Oh, really now? You mean, you've never been embarrassed before?"

Mi-na shook her head. "Never."

Xianghua giggled to herself, trying to think of something to say that would make Mi-na blush, and something occurred to her. "So tell me, what do you think of Kilik? Or Maxi?" The Korean blinked for a moment, caught a bit off-guard by the question. But she quickly realized that her friend was just trying to tease her, and smirked. "Kilik is a monk, Xianghua. I doubt that he'd be in for a roll in the hay. Maxi is too tall, and he thinks he's everything that a woman desires. Not exactly what I would look for in a guy. Besides," she said with a hint of distaste, "he's a pirate."

Xianghua grinned. She had hit a nerve. "But he's cute, don't you think?"

Mi-na frowned. "But he's a pirate. Being cute doesn't redeem him for that."

"So you admit he's cute."

Mi-na's expression started to go sour... until she saw an opening in this little verbal spar of theirs.

"You sound like you're into him."

Xianghua's mouth went so wide, it would have been easy to stuff her foot and most of her leg in there. "You can't be serious! I wouldn't go for a man like that if we were the only two people in the world!" Xianghua shouted. Now she was flustered, and it made her face flush and her eyes shine in the most... attractive way. Mi-na chuckled in amusement, and Xianghua brought her little fit to a halt as she realized what was going on.

"...No fair. You tricked me."

Mi-na's laughter deepened. "Hey, never start something that you're not sure you'll win." Mi-na paused for a moment as something occurred to her, and said, "What about Kilik?"

Xianghua adopted an expression that practically screamed, 'What, are you kidding me?'

"Oh, no. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who's all that interested in girls – at least, not like that. Seems more like a brother than a lover… Come to think of it," she continued, "I don't know who I like, really."

Mi-na gave Xianghua a searching look, as if trying to look straight into her soul. After a brief period of silence, she muttered, "I don't know who I like either…"

Xianghua felt her face flush again, and she turned away, wondering why her heart had started beating faster so suddenly. After a few seconds, she said, "Well… it's getting late. I should probably head to bed." She glanced at Mi-na, who hadn't looked away from her yet. She swallowed nervously, trying to control her heart rate, and whispered, "Good night."

"Good night," said Mi-na, who finally looked away at last, and Xianghua headed back inside. As she walked towards her room, she couldn't help wondering what had just taken place between her Korean companion and herself…

* * *

The following day, the caravan was preparing to leave. For Seong Mi-na, this meant she needed to find something to do to pass the time while the Imperial entourage packed everything up. Today, she was wearing an outfit that differed from her usual gold-and-crimson attire. She wore a white silk tunic with full sleeves, instead of a sleeveless tunic. Atop this, she wore a green dress with blue trim near the top. She had even done away with the headband she usually sported. A small ball sat on the ground beside her.

Xianghua, on the other hand was wearing her Imperial Guards' uniform, which was all red silk with gold trim. The legs of the pants were cut short, just below the hips, exposing most of her legs. Her shoes were soft silk, held together by a pair of cloth cuffs on her ankles. It was a rather racy outfit, compared to what she usually wore, but it served her purposes adequately.

As they stood in the courtyard in front of the inn, waiting for their entourage to finish packing, Xianghua asked, "So, how do you play this again?"

Mi-na smiled and explained again, placing her right foot atop the ball. "Like I said, it's simple. You keep this ball in the air for as long as possible using just your feet. No hands, no head, no other part of the body besides your legs and feet. The one who can do it the longest wins. Easy enough, right?"

Xianghua grinned. "Sounds a bit too easy."

The Korean smirked. "Fine then. You go first," she said as she slid the ball out from under her right foot, slid her toes beneath it, and flicked the ball towards the female guard, sending it sailing casually through the air.

Xianghua caught it easily with her left foot, the ball sitting just atop her instep before she flicked it straight upwards. With that, she calmly began to kick and flick the ball in the air. Her heels, her toes, her knees, anything that wasn't above the waist was used. Well, almost everything... when the ball bumped against her left hip, she knew that she had lost, because the ball was knocked towards the wall of a nearby building. "Shoot!"

Mi-na smiled and said, "Pretty good. There's a way to avoid what just happened there, though."

Xianghua looked back over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow she went to retrieve the ball. "Oh, really? Why don't you show me, then?"

She threw the ball towards Mi-na, who promptly let it bounce off of her left knee and started mimicking what Xianghua had done to keep the ball afloat. Just like it had with the Chinese woman, the ball headed towards Mi-na's left hip... Xianghua smirked, thinking that she would meet the same fate.

She didn't.

Rising up on her toes slightly and turning her back towards the ball a split second before impact, Mi-na bumped it upwards just enough for it to sail right over her head, and right back into play. Xianghua's jaw slackened and her eyes widened, the pupils dilating to get a good eyeful.

'Did she really just do that?'

Mi-na let the ball rest on her right instep for a moment, smiling confidently at Xianghua. "See? Simple."

Xianghua walked towards Mi-na and said, "Teach me how to do that."

The Korean raised an eyebrow. "What, you mean now?"

Xianghua nodded. "Yes, now! We have time, don't we? That was great – I want to be able to do that."

Mi-na smiled and said, "Sure thing. Turn around right quick."

Xianghua obeyed eagerly... but she wasn't so eager anymore as Mi-na placed her hands on Xianghua's hips. A heated blush coated her cheeks, and her heart started thumping a little faster. "What in the world are you doing?" she whispered urgently.

Mi-na smiled. "Be calm. I'm only trying to help." Still, as she slipped her long, strong fingers around the smaller woman's hips, she suddenly recalled the moment that had taken place between them the previous night. She'd felt a bit odd, then, and ever since, she'd wondered what it was that had made her feel that way... and as she thought about that, she found herself marveling at how… soft and… smooth… Xianghua's hips felt, even through her clothing.

Suddenly, she felt odd again, just like she had the night before.

She shook her head to clear these thought from her mind, and got back to teaching. "Okay. First, push your feet into the ground by bending your legs." Xianghua did so. "Okay, now push upwards with the balls of your feet, but don't jump, and thrust your hips outwards when you do it." Again, the younger woman did as she was told, and Mi-na felt her breath catch as the muscles in Xianghua's hips tightened beneath her palms.

She felt herself blush for reasons unknown, but Xianghua did not see. 'What's wrong with me?' she thought, trying to force herself to stop blushing. Fortunately, she was still able to keep her voice calm and level as she spoke again. "Okay, now do it again, but with less bend in your legs." Xianghua nodded, and did it again. Once again, her hips responded correctly, and Mi-na almost had to remove her hands.

'This is really weird...'

But she did not pull away as she asked for Xianghua to perform the action one last time, and to bend her knees even less while doing so. "It was how I was able to turn around, pop my legs, and hit the ball in one movement."

Xianghua smiled and said, "You really are something else. But would you... um... move your hands this time?" Xianghua turned her head to look at Mi-na over her left shoulder, and the adorable little blush on Xianghua's cheeks did something strange to Mi-na's heart rate. "You're distracting me."

Mentally, Mi-na acknowledged that she knew how the younger girl felt, but she said nothing. She pulled her hands away, and watched as Xianghua performed the movement. Her eyes drifted to Xianghua's behind as she did it again… and as she watched that rear end of hers bob up and down, Mi-na felt the blush returning to her cheeks once again…

"Perfect," she managed to say, albeit a little hoarsely.

Xianghua turned around and smiled brightly, gesturing at the ball. "I want to try with the ball now, to see if I can actually do it."

Mi-na managed to push the strange thoughts out of her head, and smirked. "You sure? Might want to work on your footwork before you do the turn. This isn't a simple move – it takes timing and precision."

Xianghua pouted. "So you're saying that I can't do it?"

Mi-na chuckled as she picked up the ball with her instep, and flicked it in a graceful arc through the air at Xianghua. "Go for it."

After a few kicks to get the ball in position, Xianghua tried to apply the technique that the Korean had taught her. This time, Mi-na watched intently, doing her best to keep her mind clear of the strange thoughts. And lo and behold, the ball bounced off of the young woman's lower back, sailing cleanly back into the air, over her head, and back down towards the ground, heading for a spot that would require the same technique she had just used. Xianghua dipped low, using her legs to pivot and turn halfway around before bumping the ball back into the air.

As she watched Xianghua hips bobbing up and down, Mi-na suddenly found herself imagining her hands on Xianghua's waist, caressing it gently with her long fingers… this time, without any clothes between her palms and the younger woman's skin…

Blushing furiously, Mi-na forced the thoughts from her mind. Still, they had left an impression, and she couldn't help wondering why she was having such thoughts in the first place. More than a little confused and embarrassed, she looked down to hide her face with her bangs.

Meanwhile, now that she had gotten the hang of the trick, the young guard captain played the game quite skillfully. By now, a few of the guards had stopped to watch her play. Every now and then, they would clap whenever she managed to pull off a particularly difficult maneuver. Finally, the ball struck the ground after a good two minutes, far exceeding Mi-na's time. Xianghua picked the ball up, and bowed to her applauding audience, who returned to work.

"Looks like I won, huh?" she said, turning to look at the other woman. The Korean did not respond, and Xianghua inclined her head in curiosity.

"...Mi-na? Are you okay?" she said, walking over to her. Still, the Korean did not react, and Xianghua bent down so she could look into her face… and froze. Suddenly, they found themselves transfixed by one another's gazes. Xianghua was hypnotized by Mi-na's chocolate-brown pupils, and Mi-na was lost in the younger woman's radiant eyes.

"...Pretty..." Xianghua whispered, hypnotized.

Mi-na responded without thinking. "Yes... yes you are."

Xianghua felt herself flush. For the longest time, they stood there, not able and not wanting to look away. Compelled by an intense, primal urge, Mi-na started leaning toward Xianghua, her eyes drifting shut slowly. Xianghua parted her lips slightly, letting her eyes slide closed as well as their faces drew closer…

"Ahem…"

Suddenly, they both snapped out of it, and the both of them quickly pulled away, blushing furiously. They looked up, and saw Kilik standing there, looking a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable. The man was a bit naïve, but even he was perceptive enough to realize that he had just interrupted something. "Errrr… we're ready to go. Just thought you should know…" When he received no response, Kilik swallowed nervously, and hurried away.

"We… we should probably get going," said Mi-na, who kept her eyes locked on the ground.

"Yeah…" replied Xianghua, who couldn't seem to rip her eyes away from the wall of a nearby building. After a few more seconds of silence, when neither of them had anything else to say, they walked away and headed for the cart that held all their equipment. Xianghua sat on the end of the cart, while Mi-na opted to walk alongside it. The whole time, they avoided one another's eyes, and battled with the storm of confusing emotions that raged inside each of them.

Even as they left Hotan, neither of them could stop thinking about what had almost taken place, and neither could figure out why they felt the way they did...

* * *

One week and three days later, they were about to exit China's territorial control. Now in the city of Kashgar, the final stop in China's section of the old Silk Road, they had found another inn to rest at. As they entered the city proper, and the sun made its final descent below the horizon, the sky was painted twin shades of red and gold, as if to mimic Mi-na's choice of clothing.

Later that night, as they performed in the vast center of trading and commerce, they heard that things were getting rather interesting near the city. The guards had been put on a higher state of alert, but nothing had broken out in Kashgar itself yet.

This new information troubled Xianghua. Was it Soul Edge? Was it a battle? Or was it nothing at all? She wanted to investigate immediately, and she voiced her opinion as they headed toward the inn that the older woman had already arranged that they stay at, but Mi-na wasn't exactly keen on that idea.

"We need rest, Xianghua. It's been almost a month in this desert – we need to get ready for the rest of the trip. Besides, we have no idea whether these stories are true or not. It's better to try and talk to someone who's actually been out that way."

Of course, Mi-na spoke reason, but Xianghua shook her head. "But if we wait, we could lose even more information! I don't want to be the last one to know things, especially where the Soul Edge might be concerned. Besides," she continued, making a counter-point of her own, "Whether it's true or not is best found out by going out there and seeing what's what, don't you think?"

Mi-na smiled. Xianghua never liked to be last in anything, but at least she was beginning to improve in that department, just like Mi-na. Once upon a time, coming in last place would have been unacceptable to the Korean. But she had gotten past that – matured. She could forget things now – let go of all those injuries and hurts that seemed insignificant in retrospect. She fought, and she moved on without looking back.

In any event... she placed a hand on Xianghua's shoulder with an amused smile. "You're gonna have to trust me on this. We can't just go flying in there without any sort of information. Wait for now, okay?" The sun happened to shine in just the right way today, because Mi-na's eyes sparkled as if they were lit with some kind of inner fire. Xianghua couldn't help but agree with her, when Mi-na's eyes did that. The Chinese woman nodded in response, her eyes wide in fascination.

Mi-na nodded tersely and said, "Good. Let's head inside, okay?" She walked towards the inn with Xianghua in tow.

As she walked behind her, Xianghua kept her eyes on Mi-na's back, but a few moments later, they slid down… and fixated on Mi-na's rear end, swaying from side to side invitingly. 'It looks so soft...' she thought, and was suddenly possessed by the powerful urge to reach out and touch it.

Xianghua's fingers twitched, and she started to reach forward… Fortunately, she realized what she was doing, and drew her arm back quickly, as if stung. She blushed furiously, and darted around Mi-na to head inside.

Mi-na, surprised as a bright red Xianghua sprinted past her, called out. "Hey, Xianghua, are you al-"

"I'm fine!" the younger woman called out before disappearing through the door, leaving behind a puzzled Korean.

After the show, the Imperial entourage had gone to the inn ahead of the two women, and taken the liberty of carrying everyone's things to their respective rooms. Xianghua stopped only once to breathlessly ask one of the Imperial guards where her room was. After he answered, it was there that Xianghua ran, and as soon as she was inside, she slammed the door shut behind her, and pressed her back against the wall beside it.

'What's happening to me!?'

Meanwhile, Mi-na headed to her own room, and stepped inside. The way the younger woman was behaving mystified her… but not as much as her own behavior. Ever since meeting Xianghua, she found herself thinking and feeling things that confused her. And she did not like being confused.

She also did not like being hot, and her room, thanks to the desert heat, was _broiling_. Being on the edge of the desert didn't mean that the intense, burning temperature of the sun wasn't there all the same. 'Damn, I need to cool off,' she thought, and opened a window… but even the air was warm. Warm plus hot equaled unbearable, and there wasn't much she could do about it.

"You gotta be kidding me," Mi-na groaned as she fanned herself with one hand. There was only one thing she could do to remedy the situation, and it wasn't a pleasant thought.

'This is humiliating,' the Korean brooded as she took off her top, underneath which she wore nothing. 'If I were at home, I wouldn't have to endure this," she thought. Then again, it was one of the rigors of the road. She'd just have to suck it up.

Soon, her entire wardrobe from that day was on the floor. Now she stood alone in the middle of the room, wearing nothing but the thin sheen of sweat that coated her silky, shapely curves. And yet, it was _still_ damned hot. "Sleep," she said resolutely. "I need sleep." She figured that a rest would to cool her off, or at least help her ignore the sun. Barring that, she could always try taking a bath. With that thought, she slipped into the bed, and pulled the sheets over her shoulders.

In a few minutes' time, she had passed out.

* * *

Chai Xianghua could not sleep.

She had attempted to get some shut eye after she had gone to her room, but to no avail. And it was all because of her: the Korean woman whom she was becoming increasingly attached to, and having some very odd thoughts about. Her heart stirred whenever she thought about her, and it did so even now. It was becoming frustrating, and she had no explanation for it. But she realized that she had to do something about it, and her impatient nature demanded that she do it right now.

Yes, that's right, in the middle of the night. When Xianghua wanted something, she wanted it right then, and didn't dawdle with pleasantries.

She knew where Mi-na's room was, sure enough. Sure, she was asleep at the moment, but she could always go back to sleep later. Right now, there was business to tend to. These feelings demanded to be heard and felt, and Xianghua would express them, if only to get some sleep. That said, she approached the room at the end of the hall and... found that the door opened quite easily.

'She must have forgotten to lock it,' she thought as she stepped into the room.

Abruptly, Xianghua froze. She felt a powerful shock run up her spine. Her pupils stretched as wide as they could go. Her breath felt like a block of ice in her throat. Her heart felt as if it was going to _explode_.

'Mi-na... she's...'

In the midst of the night, Mi-na had pushed the sheets down her body, exposing everything above her waist, and even part one leg. The moonlight pouring through the window of her room made Mi-na's skin glow in an unearthly manner. As she looked at her, Xianghua felt like liquid fire had been poured into her veins. She was compelled to move closer; get a better look. She went forward, and stood beside the bed, looking down at the Korean.

Mi-na's body was powerful, honed by training. But despite this, her curves were all woman. Her hair had become completely undone during the night, and it fanned outwards in a circle of brunette silk. It made her look... ethereal, in a way, as if she were a beautiful spirit descended from the heavens. Xianghua had never felt so… so… _excited_. Her heart was hammering so fast it was as if it wanted to leap out of her chest to be with Mi-na.

She wanted to see more.

Xianghua reached out slowly, grabbed a fistful of sheet, and started to pull the covers away so she could bear witness to any other wonders that this goddess of loveliness had to offer...

"Mmmmmm..."

She froze as Mi-na stirred. 'Shit!' she thought, as desire and excitement were quickly replaced by the fear of being caught. Xianghua released the sheet, which still covered the most intimate parts of the older woman, and backed away slowly, trying not to make any noise as she made her way out. As soon as she believed she was clear of any creaky floor boards, she left, closing the door behind her quietly. With that, she made her way down the hall as fast as she could, bolted inside of her room, closed the door, and locked it tight, panting heavily.

'My God… she was… I can't… so beautiful…'

Every single one of her nerves felt like it was on fire. She could feel something powerful coursing through her, causing her to shake uncontrollably. And all she could think about was Mi-na, laying there and looking so enticing…

The pale skin, shining like a lantern. The wonderful breasts, full and mature. Those hips, or rather what she could see of them, smooth, with hollows and curves pleasing to the eye. Xianghua's emotions took control as something started building within her. Instinct told her that she needed relief. Not standing up – definitely not standing up. Something told her that losing herself while standing up would end rather painfully, especially for her knees.

The juncture between her legs throbbed invitingly, and she whimpered softly. Xianghua drifted towards her bed slowly, her fingers undoing her sash as if they had a mind of their own. Her silk robe slid slowly from her shoulders, pooling around her feet and revealing her young, bare curves and soft, delicate skin. The air in the room was warm and stifling. Yet her body felt even hotter, and her skin started to glisten with sweat; partly because she was so hot, and partly because she was so excited. Xianghua sat on the edge of the bed… and acting on instinct, she reached hesitantly for her breasts…

Hands caressed, squeezing gently. A gasp, and a gentle moan. Xianghua's eyes turned a shade darker as they widened in awe. She squeezed a bit harder, and squeaked as the fires in her body flared, sending a shock of heat through her body. She also noticed that her palms were against her nipples and began rubbing. A moan turned into a purr.

She didn't even really know what she was doing, but she liked it. A lot. 'This is... what Mi-na makes me feel?'

Xianghua giggled, pleased with herself. 'I love it!' She fondled some more, her hips squirming and shivering slightly with every rub and squeeze. Other parts of her tingled, begging to be appeased in the same manner. In fact, everything begged. Hands, arms, elbows, shoulders, anywhere that had skin wanted a piece of the action. She soon discovered that her fingers were tingling.

Curious, she slid one of the fingers on her right hand into her mouth and suckled. To her surprise, a moan resonated from her throat. She suckled just a bit harder, trying to see where the limit was. A louder moan was the result. The excitement she felt was almost overwhelming, but still, there was something else needed to be doing; something else that needed to be pleased. Her left hand was no longer satisfied with just the breast, so she moved it along her skin, fingers playing against her belly as if it were some kind of instrument.

She had to remove her fingers from her mouth after a while in order to let the sounds she was making be heard, and the sweet music resonated from Xianghua's throat. "Mmmm... Ahhhhh..."

Her right hand was at her breasts again; she couldn't get enough of them. But now her left was heading towards parts of her body it had never traveled before… at least, not in this manner. Her legs happened to be one such place. The fingers of her left hand had passed the point where her heat was at its center, not daring to venture there just yet. But it wouldn't be left unattended for long, at the rate that this was progressing. Xianghua's inner thighs trembled as fingers strummed over and along them, causing her to produce noises that she had never made before. And still, she continued squeezing, massaging, and playing with her breasts, causing her to coo with pleasure.

Everything within her was building. Everything she did was causing her excitement to pool in that one place, the juncture between her thighs. The tingling there was becoming unbearable. She hesitated… then let her hand drift towards it.

'S-so hot...' she thought as her hand neared it, though it did not burn in a bad way – in fact, she did not know how to describe this new type of heat. She paused momentarily as her fingers hovered over the core of her desire for a moment... then the fingers of her left hand stroked the petals of her flower, and she jumped.

It felt like a small bolt of lightning had struck her, an electric shock traveling all the way from the top of her head to the soles of her feet, and then running back up to the junction between her legs.

'Yes! Good!!'

Her head rocked backwards as she started stroking gently, and wave after wave of pleasure pulsed through her being. Slowly, she leaned backwards on to the bed, and continued caressing her soft, moist entrance.

'Mi-na...'

Her name had an odd effect. The fires climbed higher, and Xianghua's hand started moving faster. At this point, through the haze of pleasure and passion, Xianghua realizes something profound; something that caused her to shiver violently and made her whimper desperately with overflowing passion as the discovery struck her like a white-hot mallet of emotion.

'I need you, Mi-na..."

Her hand moved even faster, and at this point, she found another bliss. One of her fingers had accidentally slipped inside of her body. Her inner walls seized up, clenching tightly around the intruder. Xianghua yelped and looked down in surprise. She saw the index finger of her left hand buried inside of her, and she moaned softly, strangely aroused by the sight. Slowly, she began moving her finger in and out, back and forth, and moaned loudly as the waves of ecstasy began anew, but even stronger than before.

'What… what if Mi-na were doing this to me?'

Xianghua shivered. The thought was exciting. Very much so. And as she thought about the possibility, her mind actually envisioned Mi-na participating in this wonderful, worldly exchange. It wasn't Xianghua's hands anymore, but the Korean's. Touching her where she touched, feeling what she felt, sharing her need. Her heart felt like it was about to burst from her chest as a sort of ecstasy rolled over her. Coherent thought was scattered to the four winds as she began moving her finger faster and faster. But it wasn't enough. No... not full enough.

She added another finger.

Xianghua had to bite her bottom lip in order to prevent herself from crying out. Her hips began to tremble uncontrollably. Had she been standing, this was the point where her legs would have given out. She didn't know why, but something within her, perhaps the flames that came from where her fingers kept slipping into her body repeatedly, told her that she was close to something beautiful. Her fingers were guided along by something wet and slippery. She didn't ask what it was, she simply kept going, kept feeding the fire.

Xianghua was consumed by her passion. Her sense of self, that innocence, was wiped clean – replaced by something new. Something wild and untamed. Something that she could dive into and be lost in. She had been awakened. Her heart was full now – full of her need to scream, to cry, to shout to the heavens.

It was barely restrained.

'Just a bit more... almost there...'

Her fingers moved at a frantic pace. Xianghua's arm began to get tired. She switched hands and continued, trying to pick up where she left off. She blankly stared at her slick, wet, right hand, the first two fingers coated in nectar. Without a second thought, she placed them in her mouth, tasting herself. It was exquisite, and brought her to a new level. The moan was stifled; suppressed.

Suddenly, she wanted to remove her fingers and let out a howl to the moon.

She had hit something sensitive. Something that felt so good. The sensation in her body transcended from a raging fire to something on the scale of an inferno. She reached out again... and found it once more. Another burst. And another. And...

"Mmmmmmhhhhmmm!"

The building sensation within her finally burst, spilling white-hot ecstasy into every inch of her body.

Xianghua arched her back, curled her toes, clamped her eyes shut, and thanked whatever divine powers were watching over her. This was everything... she felt like she had touched the sun and taken a piece of it back with her. Her body was alive, more so than it had ever been. Every thought in her mind had been erased, save for one. It wasn't even a complete thought – just a name. In the state she was currently in, thought immediately turned to speech.

"Mi-na..."

It took her a while to calm down. She didn't even notice that her fingers were still moving.

* * *

Seong Mi-na could not sleep.

The Korean woman sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she wondered what had woken her. Her eyes opened slowly, and she looked around, still drowsy. She noticed that the sheets had slid off most of her body, but she didn't pay it any mind. After seeing that her room was empty, Mi-na almost went back to sleep... until she heard something. The noises were strange – things that she had never heard before, and they seemed to be coming from down the hall. She was possessed by curiosity.

'Ah, well,' she mused. 'I'm awake already, so I might as well do some investigating.'

Mi-na got out of bed and dug through her trunk full of belongings for a robe. She found one, slipped it on, and tied the sash around her waist. Quietly, she slipped out into the hall, noting absentmindedly that she had forgotten to lock her door, and headed towards the source of the noises, wondering which room they came from. But when she finally traced them back to their source, her eyes widened. There was no way that Xianghua was making those strange sounds, was there? No possible way. Mi-na tried the door. It was locked. She couldn't get in.

Her mind ran through all the possible explanations as to why Xianghua could be making those sounds. Was she having a bad dream? Sick? In pain? That last thought motivated her to jerk at the door quite hard, but it wouldn't even budge, and the sounds within the room continued. She backed away, prepared to kick the damn thing down... and then, she began hearing sounds that were entirely too odd. Wet noises... cute squeaks... even a giggle or two. Whatever she was doing in there, she certainly wasn't sleeping or in pain.

'Okay, what the hell?'

Mi-na pressed her face against the crack between the door and the doorframe. The sight that she was met with was... well, to say the least, eye-opening. The Korean's mouth went dry and her heart rate skyrocketed at the sight of her Chinese friend pleasing herself. She shivered.

'Not now!' Mi-na lamented as something within her burned. She wanted it. She wanted to do what Xianghua was doing, _with_ her no less. When she witnessed the guard's fingers sliding into her mouth, her legs suddenly felt like jelly, and she struggled to remain standing. A part of her felt ashamed for spying on what was obviously a private activity, but an even bigger part of her wanted to keep watching…

Xianghua was beautifully naked. She was approaching adulthood, and her young curves were beginning to come into their own. Her swift hands flowed over her skin, which glowed in the moonlight. Her black hair seemed to shine and wink as if there was stardust in her raven locks. Mi-na, whether she wanted to admit it or not, was captivated.

As the older woman stared, questions began forming in her mind – what had possessed her friend to do this? She remembered the conversation atop the roof, while they were out in the desert, and began to consider that Xianghua had lied to her.

'Is she… attracted to Maxi? Or Kilik?'

And if not them, was it someone amongst the other guards? Seong Mi-na found that her heart twisted in the worst way, and clutched a hand to her chest. It was a feeling she was familiar with. It was the feeling she had when someone else had something that she wanted. Jealousy and pain, but on a scale that she had never experienced before. Her heart felt like it was about to be torn apart. And then, another thought came on its heels... a thought that no longer shocked her.

'I… I care about Xianghua, and… I want her.'

Now, she could admit this irrefutably. And she didn't want anyone else to have her. Her thoughts organized themselves as she was filled with a sense of conviction. She would come to have her young Chinese friend, via any means at her disposal. Mi-na knew she had to claim her before anyone else caught Xianghua's eye. However, she suspected that she was a little too late, and her heart clenched again. If that were the case, she had lost before the game had started.

And Mi-na did not like losing.

It got to the point where the feelings became all too much, and her conviction was replaced with despair. Now she wanted to go back to her room, so she could be alone for a bit, but she still found herself rooted to the spot, still transfixed by the Xianghua. Only when the Chinese woman flopped back on to the bed was she able to blink, just once. It occurred to her that she should probably get back to her room before she sunk any deeper into depression, and she started to walk away, but before she was able to take more than two steps, she heard one final squeal from the Chinese woman. Despite the fact that she knew she shouldn't, Mi-na turned and headed back towards the door, wondering what had caused such a noise. As she looked through the crack, Mi-na saw Xianghua's back arch off the bed, which made her heart clench again.

Her mind reminded her that she should leave before she was caught, and she began to do so a second time. But before she could even take a step, she heard the one word that erased the pain in her heart, trading it for shock and elation. Just one word; a name:

"Mi-na..."

She stopped where she was, stunned. Her name… that meant that Xianghua had been doing that while thinking about _her_. Mi-na was suddenly filled with excitement and happiness. How could she have been so foolish, to have doubted how Xianghua felt about her? The signs had been so obvious… how had she not seen them before?

The Korean walked back towards her room, her heart beating fiercely in her chest and her legs unburdened, as if she were floating on air. It was impossible to describe how happy she felt.

She would sleep well that night.

* * *

A Prelude, Part 3- A Destiny Revealed

...Wow. That was a complete one-eighty in the direction I thought I'd take. I have just one person to thank for this... my beta reader. He told me what people were looking for (or rather, what he himself was looking for) and informed me of any changes I should make. Which is what good betas do. Humongous shout out to Master Nemesis for his big, bad, biting comments. He chewed me out so much, I swear I'm starting to bruise.

But this is the result!

Well then, now that I've started the scenes, will you all please review? I would appreciate feedback very much. Thanks, and good night. There will be one more prologue chapter before the remix of the opening is complete, so stay put!


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